Fidelio

SYNOPSIS

Florestan is imprisoned by his evil enemy, Pizarro. Hearing this news, his lovely wife Lenora dresses herself as a young man, Fidelio, and goes in search of him. In her search, she makes herself the assistant to Florestan’s jailer Rocco, and the jailor’s daughter falls in love with Lenora, still disguised as Fidelio. The opera ends with the triumph of Lenora through the entrance of the Prince, or the heroic element of the opera, and justice is restored.

CHARACTERS

Florestan: A prisoner (tenor)

Leonore:His wife (soprano)

Rocco: Guard (bass)

Marzelline:His daughter(soprano)
Jaquino, assistant to Rocco(tenor)
Don Pizarro, governor of the prison	(bass-baritone)
Don Fernando, King's minister(bass)
Two prisoners

Fidelio

CONTENT

Fidelio is based on a story by the French writer Bouilly. Meaning “Conjugal love,” it is a tale of redemption and love between a husband and wife. Beethoven chose for his librettist a famous writer of his day named Treitschke.

Opera contains Beethoven's most important values; brotherhood, marital commitment and triumph.Beethoven was a fan of the “Enlightened” outlook, which treasured triumph over injustice as the greatest ideal of man. Fidelio contains a stalwart wife, her noble husband, a Prince and an evil tyrant. It is an adaption of a French Revolution tale.

Fidelio is a “rescue opera (an opera that contains a plot of persecution where good triumphs over evil) which is based on a heroic character who is a supporter of individual merits.Opera ends with the message that being virtuous and good is the only way to win.In this case Fidelio has very tight relation with French Revolution.Fundamental elements of French Revolution; having strong moral virtues, strong critical point of view and resisting challenges without fear.Beethoven highlights the importance of human being and individual achievements without the help of chance.This situation can be considered as the dominant effect of French Revolution.After French Revolution individualism became the most prominent factor which shapes the political system and the society.Fidelio also supported the movement from the individual to the community.

Fidelio

Arthur Schopenhauer wrote that;  
"Beethoven said of Fidelio, “Of all my children, this is the one that caused me the worst birth pangs, the one that brought me the most sorrow and for that reason, it is the one most dear to me.” Maybe that is why Beethoven’s Fidelio exemplifies the depth of the artist’s spiritual nature and the excellence of his lived experience. We can take Beethoven’s Fidelio not only as an exemplar piece of music but also as a musical expression of moral exemplarity. This means that the ethical message of Fidelio can never be completely understood unless the ethical characteristic of Beethoven’s aesthetic representation is revealed. Beethoven’s Fidelio unlike many other musical oeuvres has continuously developed in maturity for different listeners in the past 200 years because it has been the spiritual expression of an attitude towards life that has within it the possibility of thinking life beyond suffering".

Social Message of the Marriage of Figaro in the Way of French Revolution

Although The Marriage of Figaro is considered as one of the best comic operas, it has  another  meaning in the history of music.The social  massage of the opera which is based on the idea of being individual without distinction of class stratification had a significant role in the period to French Revolution.The character of Figaro put forward an opinion that dares to state that he is as good as his master.This is the first consequent of the enligthtenment idea.The enlightenment idea gave value to the idea of individualizm and provide people who belong to lower classes an opportunity to jugde aristocracy and also a chance to realize their rights.This was an  important step to prepare society to the  French Revolution.The middle and the lower classes follow a servant who can deride with his master's  arrogance and pedantry, critisize his moral values and revolt to his injustices.Charles H. Parsons is true when he says "Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro  is one of the most beloved comic operas of all.Audiences have been laughing and enjoying its humor for over two centuries. Yet no one probably enjoyed the humor as much as Mozart himself. Noted for a ready, if sometimes childish, wit, Mozart certainly enjoyed tweaking the prevailing social class system of his day. And no one was more aware than Mozart of the dangers of such tweaking and theserious underside of Figaro’s story. Mozart had audaciously chosen to base his opera on Pierre de Beaumarchais’ play Le Marriage de Figaro, which with vicious political satire mocked the French nobility and absolutism in general. The play was soon to become a rallying cry for the French Revolution".

Although Figaro was a  rebellious character for the period, in the way of French Revolution, his critisicms were not in a heroic way.Figaro has sarcastic and biting style because social and political conditions not allowed middle and lower classes to say aloud  their thoughts bravely.The most noticeable different after the revolution was having more concrete and bolder reactions and commentaris about  aristocracy and social regime.

The Marriage of Figaro

ACT 1,  Last Scene: Non Piu Andrai

Cherubino who flirts with all women in castle was punished by  the Count  and he has to join military service.Figaro wants to give him a lesson about love in a sarcastic way.Figaro tells him his sweet life which is passed amoung women is expired.When Figaro says " That light and jaunty hat, That hair, that shining aspect, That womanish red color in your face!"  he derides with noble class features as a servant.And aslo his sayings about honorable life with a little pay is a lift head to aristocratic system.

Figaro owes his critical view to the idea of enlightenment.With the help the enlightenment movement, people started to think them-selves as individuals who can have critical ideas about social issues with out distinction of class discrimination.In the atmospher of enlightenment before French Revolution, people realized that they should have freedom to say aloud  their thoughts although they belong to low economic class.


Non piu andrai, farfallone amoroso, You won't go any more, amorous
                                                      butterfly,
Notte e giorno d'intorno girando,      Fluttering around inside night and day,
Delle belle turbando il riposo,        Disturbing the sleep of beauties,
Narcisetto, Adoncino d'amor.           A little Narcissus and Adonis of love.
Non piu avrai questi bei penacchini,   You won't have those fine feathers
                                                     any more,
Quel cappello leggiero e galante,      That light and jaunty hat,
Quella chioma, quell'aria brillante,   That hair, that shining aspect,
Quel vermiglio donnesco color!         That womanish red color [in your face]!
Fra guerrieri, poffar Bacco!           Among soldiers, by Bacchus!
Gran mustacchi, stretto sacco,         A huge moustache, a little knapsack,
Schioppo in spalla, sciabla al fianco, Gun on your back, sword at your side,
Collo dritto, muso franco,             Your neck straight, your nose exposed,
Un gran casco, o un gran turbante,     A big helmet, or a big turban,
Molto onor, poco contante.             A lot of honour, very little pay.
Ed in vece del fandango                And in place of the dance
Una marcia per il fango.               A march through the mud.
Per montagne, per valloni,             Over mountains, through valleys,
Con le nevi, e i solioni,              With snow, and heat-stroke,
Al concerto di tromboni,               To the music of trumpets,
Di bombarde, di cannoni,               Of bombards, and of cannons,
Che le palle in tutti i tuoni,           Which, at every boom,
All'orecchio fan fischiar.             Will make bullets whistle past your ear.
Cherubino, alla vittoria!             Cherubino, go to victory!
Alla gloria militar!                      To military glory!

The Marriage of Figaro

ACT I,  Scene 2; CAVATINA

Se vuol ballare, signor contino, il chitarrino le suonerò, sì, se vuol venire nella mia scuola, la capriola le insegnerò, sì.

If you would dance, my pretty Count, I'll play the little guitar for you, yes. If you will come to my dancing school I'll teach you the capriole, yes.

Figaro who just learned the Count's interest to Susanna, stars his aria with these words.It is a lift head to Count's immorality and Figaro sarcastically challange to powerful nobility for his love.When he says "If you would dance, my pretty Count, I'll play the little guitar for you, yes" he wanted to emphasize that Count Almaviva has no right to behave in an immoral way just because of he has power.Under the way of French Revolution, people began to give value their own ethics, ideas and believe system.The enlightenment idea gave people who belongs to substratum opportunity to advocate their ideas as individuals who have the ability of thinking as much as people from upper classes.

The Marriage of Figaro

Synopsis & Characters

It is a story about a crazy day; the wedding day of Figaro and Susanna.The story was formed of intrigues and confused events in Count Almaviva's palace in Spain.First, Figaro and Susanna try to trick Count with the help of the Countess.By the way Marcellina and Bartolo plan to stop the marriage of Figaro but this plan is  failed because of the results of other happenings.Towards the end of the opera almost characters against Count.After the  surprise conspiracy of Susanna and Countess, the opera finishes with happy end.

 Count Almaviva: Spanish lord.(baritone)
 Countess Almaviva:The Count Almaviva's wife.(soprano)
 Susanna: The Countess's maid and engaged to Figaro.(soprano)
 Figaro:The Count's  servant.(bass or baritone)
 Cherubino:A pageboy.(soprano or  mezzo-soprano)
 Bartolo: A doctor from Seville.(bass)
 Don Basilio: A music teacher.(tenor)
 Antonio:The Count's  gardener and Susanna's uncle(bass)

 Barbarina: The doughter of Antonio 

 Don Curzino: A lawyer (tenor)

references

Edward J.Dent,1947.Mozart's Operas/Le Nozze di Figaro