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n o t e s
Papageno Suite
Arr. Jamin Hoffman
With an evil Queen of the night, a bird catcher, a prince
and a Priest of the sun, The Magic Flute is an exciting
and mystical story that has become one of mozart’s most
popular operas. The Magic Flute is unlike any of mozart’s previous
operas. mozart composed in a variety of operatic styles, and this
opera is a Singspiel, which is an operatic work that also contains
dialogue. instead of being sung in italian, which was the norm in
Vienna during this period of time, The Magic Flute was sung and
spoken in the common vernacular, German.
out of all the characters in the opera, Papageno is the best source of
comic relief. He is a bird catcher who loves his food and drink but also
longs for a wife. His fate becomes aligned with a prince name tamino.
Papageno and tamino are charged with the task to rescue the Queen
of the night’s daughter, Pamina, from the Priest of the sun, sarastro.
Papageno’s most famous number is “Pa-Pa-Pa,” which is a duet that
he sings in the last act with his love, Papagena. the music outlines his
comical character and expresses the perfect match between him and
his love.
Prelude to act i from La Traviata
By Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
Arr. Douglas Stroud
W.a. mozart
(1756-1791)
Giuseppe Verdi was an extremely influential 19th-century
operatic composer who was adored by his audiences. during
the movement for italian unification in the mid-19th century,
Verdi became a symbol for the revolutionary cause. in addition to
his role in the political arena, Verdi’s operas influenced the operatic
genre. La Traviata marked a dramatic shift in the subjects of Verdi’s
operas. Before La Traviata, Verdi mainly focused his operas on
historical subjects (Nabucco, Lombardi, Ernani) or period dramas
(Macbeth, Rigoletto). La Traviata was the first of his operas to focus
by keith kroesen
on a plot of romantic realism. this subject was very influential on
later opera composers, such as Puccini.
the opera begins at a party where a young nobleman, Alfredo, comes to
confess his undying love for Violetta, a beautiful courtesan. At first, the
couple decides to retire to a country house together, but their plans are
disrupted by Alfredo’s father, who wishes for Violetta to leave Alfredo
because of the damage she has done to his social standing. Violetta
leaves and moves to Paris. By the end of the opera, she is dying of
tuberculosis and Alfredo rushes to her to ask for her forgiveness. Alfredo
arrives just in time to see Violetta before she passes.
overture from Semiramide
Arr. Bob Lipton
gioachino roSSini
(1792-1868)
Although Gioachino Rossini wrote many fantastic operas,
the overtures of his operas have become most familiar to
audiences. television has also made Rossini’s overtures well
known in the common household. Warner Brothers popularized
the overture from Barber of Seville with the familiar Bugs Bunny
cartoon, Rabbit of Seville. the average concertgoer can probably
sing the famous melody from Rossini’s overture from Guillaume Tell
(William tell), but very few people could sing any other melody from
the rest of the opera. the overture from Semiramide is no exception.
it has become a mainstay for classical symphony concert halls.
in a period where overtures to operas were free-standing and recycled
to be used in other works, Rossini specifically wrote the overture for
Semiramide by using several of the themes from the opera to create
the overture. Semiramide was Rossini’s final italian opera and was a
more serious subject than his very common opera buffa style. the plot
is based on Voltaire’s tragedy, Semiramis, which tells the story of the
Queen of Babylon, semiramide, and the struggle for power.
pacific symphony • 17