View source for Die Entführung aus dem Serail

{{Short description|1782 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart}}
{{Infobox opera
| name = {{Lang|de|Die Entführung aus dem Serail}}
| type = [[Singspiel]]
| composer = [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|W. A. Mozart]]
| image = Mozart Die Entführung aus dem Serail Uraufführung 1782.jpg
| caption = Announcement for the premiere at the [[Burgtheater]]
| image_upright = 1.3
| translated_name = ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''
| librettist = [[Gottlieb Stephanie]]
| language = German
| based_on = [[Christoph Friedrich Bretzner]]'s {{lang|de|[[Belmont und Constanze, oder Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]}}
| premiere_date = {{Start date|1782|07|16|df=y}}
| premiere_location = [[Burgtheater]], Vienna
}}
'''''{{lang|de|Die Entführung aus dem Serail}}''''' ({{IPA|de|diː ʔɛntˈfyːʁʊŋ ʔaʊs dɛm zeˈʁaɪ|lang}}) ([[Köchel catalogue|K. 384]]; '''''The Abduction from the Seraglio'''''; also known as '''''{{lang|it|Il Seraglio}}''''') is a [[singspiel]] in three acts by [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]. The German [[libretto]] is by [[Gottlieb Stephanie]], based on [[Christoph Friedrich Bretzner]]'s {{lang|de|[[Belmont und Constanze, oder Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]}}. The plot concerns the attempt of the hero Belmonte, assisted by his servant Pedrillo, to rescue his beloved Constanze from the [[seraglio]] of [[Pasha]] Selim. The work premiered on 16 July 1782 at the Vienna [[Burgtheater]], with the composer conducting.
==Origins==
The opera loosely refers to the practice of the North African [[Barbary corsairs]], who operated primarily in the western Mediterranean, of hijacking ships belonging to Christian states. Under the pretext of [[jihad]], the ship and cargo were sold or returned only after a [[ransom]] was paid. The actual goal, however, was the [[kidnapping]] of crew and passengers, to extort ransom money or to sell them into [[slavery]]. It was also common to force affected seafaring nations of non-Muslim faith to pay [[protection money]] or [[tribute]]. The corsairs acted on behalf of or with the acquiescence of the local Muslim rulers in [[Algiers]], [[Tunis]] and [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]]. This type of state-backed piracy finally ended after the [[Invasion of Algiers (1830)|French conquest of Algiers (1830)]].<ref>[[Robert Letellier|Robert Ignatius Letellier]] (ed.): ''The Diaries of Giacomo Meyerbeer''. Vol. 1: 1791–1839, Associated University Presses, Cranberry, London, Mississsauga 1999, {{ISBN|978-0838637890}}, p. 375</ref><ref>Hsu-Ming Teo: ''Desert Passions: Orientalism and Romance Novels'', University of Texas Press, Austin 2012, {{ISBN|978-0292739383}}, p. 46</ref>{{Relevance inline|date=October 2024}}
The company that first sponsored the opera was the {{lang|de|Nationalsingspiel}} ("national [[Singspiel]]"), a pet project (1778–1783) of the Austrian emperor [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]]. The Emperor had set up the company to perform works in the German language (as opposed to the [[Italian opera]] style widely popular in Vienna). This project was ultimately given up as a failure, but along the way it produced a number of successes, mostly a series of translated works. Mozart's opera emerged as its outstanding original success.{{sfn|Manning|1982}}
The inspector of the {{lang|de|Nationalsingspiel}} was [[Gottlieb Stephanie]].<ref name="abert">{{harvnb|Abert|2007|loc=620}}</ref> When the 25-year-old Mozart arrived in Vienna in 1781, seeking professional opportunity, one of the first tasks to which he addressed himself was to become acquainted with Stephanie and lobby him for an opera commission. To this end, he brought a copy of his earlier unfinished opera ''[[Zaide]]'' and showed it to Stephanie, who was duly impressed. Mozart also made a strong impression on the manager of the theater, Count [[Orsini-Rosenberg|Franz Xaver Orsini-Rosenberg]], when in the home of Mozart's friend and patroness [[Maria Wilhelmine von Thun und Hohenstein|Maria Wilhelmine Thun]] the Count heard him play excerpts from his opera ''[[Idomeneo]]'', premiered with great success the previous year in [[Munich]].<ref name="abert" /> With this backing, it was agreed that Stephanie would find appropriate material and prepare a libretto for Mozart. Stephanie complied by preparing an altered version of an earlier work {{lang|de|[[Belmont und Constanze, oder Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]}} without attributing or seeking permission from its original author [[Christoph Friedrich Bretzner]]. Bretzner later complained loudly and publicly about the theft.{{sfn|Deutsch|1965|p=211}}
{{-}}
==Composition==
Mozart received the libretto from Stephanie on 29 July 1781. He had few opportunities to compose professionally during the summer and he set to work on the libretto at a very rapid pace, finishing three major numbers in just two days. A letter to his father [[Leopold Mozart|Leopold]] indicates he was excited about the prospect of having his opera performed in Vienna and worked enthusiastically on his project.<ref>{{lang|de|Mozart Briefe und Aufzeichnungen}} No. 615. Collected edition, Internazionalen Stiftung Mozarteum, Salzburg.</ref>
At first Mozart thought he needed to finish his opera in only two months, because tentative plans were made to perform it at the September visit of the Russian [[Paul I of Russia|Grand Duke Paul]] (son of [[Catherine the Great]] and heir to the Russian throne). However, it was ultimately decided to perform operas by [[Christoph Willibald Gluck|Gluck]] instead, giving Mozart more time.{{sfn|Braunbehrens|1990|loc=61}}
It was around this time that Mozart articulated his views about the role of the composer and the librettist in the preparation of an opera. He wrote to his father (13 October 1781):
{{quote|text=I would say that in an opera the poetry must be altogether the obedient daughter of the music. Why are Italian comic operas popular everywhere – in spite of the miserable libretti? … Because the music reigns supreme, and when one listens to it all else is forgotten. An opera is sure of success when the plot is well worked out, the words written solely for the music and not shoved in here and there to suit some miserable rhyme ... The best thing of all is when a good composer, who understands the stage and is talented enough to make sound suggestions, meets an able poet, that true phoenix;<ref>By this Mozart meant something exceedingly rare. The same metaphor is used in the first scene of Mozart's later opera {{lang|it|[[Così fan tutte]]}}.</ref> in that case, no fears need be entertained as to the applause – even of the ignorant.<ref>Quoted in {{harvnb|Braunbehrens|1990|loc=61–62}}.</ref>}}
It would seem that something along these lines did happen—that is, Mozart decided to play a major role in the shaping of the libretto, insisting that Stephanie make changes for dramatic and musical effect. On 26 September Mozart wrote:
{{quote|text=Now comes the rub! The first act was finished more than three weeks ago, as was also one aria in act 2 and the drunken duet ["Vivat Bacchus", act 2] ... But I cannot compose any more, because the whole story is being altered – and, to tell the truth, at my own request. At the beginning of act 3 there is a charming quintet or rather finale, but I would prefer to have it at the end of act 2. In order to make this practicable, great changes must be made, in fact an entirely new plot must be introduced – and Stephanie is up to his neck in other work. So we must have a little patience.<ref>Quoted in {{harvnb|Braunbehrens|1990|loc=77–78}}.</ref>}}
Mozart was evidently quite pleased to have in Stephanie a librettist who would listen to him. The September 26 letter also says:
{{quote|text=Everyone abuses Stephanie. It may be the case he is only friendly to my face. But after all he is preparing the libretto for me – and, what is more, exactly as I want it – and by Heaven, I don't ask anything more of him.<ref>Quoted in {{harvnb|Braunbehrens|1990|loc=62}}.</ref>}}
With the delays for rewriting, the composition took several more months. The premiere took place on 16 July [[1782 in music|1782]], at the [[Burgtheater]] in Vienna.<ref>{{Almanacco|dmy=16-07-1782|match=Entführung|label={{lang|de|Die Entführung aus dem Serail}}, 16 July 1782}}</ref>
==Character==
{{lang|de|Die Entführung aus dem Serail}} is in the genre of "Singspiel", thus the music lacks [[recitative]]s and consists entirely of set numbers. As [[Spike Hughes]] notes, the action is mostly carried forward by the spoken dialogue, so the libretto gave Mozart little opportunity to display an achievement for which his later operas are celebrated, namely the construction of scenes in which the plot is both reflected in and driven forward by the music.{{sfn|Hughes|1971|loc=20}}
{{lang|de|Die Entführung}} is lighthearted and frequently comic, with little of the deep character exploration or darker feelings found in Mozart's later operas.<ref>See, for example, {{harvnb|Manning|1982}}.</ref> The opera was inspired by [[Turquerie|a contemporary interest]] in the exotic culture of the [[Ottoman Empire]], a nation which had only recently ceased to be a military threat to Austria.<ref>{{harvnb|Braunbehrens|1990|loc=74}}, suggests that "preparations had just begun to celebrate" the centennial of lifting of the Turkish [[Battle of Vienna|Siege of Vienna]] in 1683. Later in the decade, Austria was again at war with Turkey (see [[Austro–Turkish War (1787–1791)]]) but this was a war of aggression, not defense.</ref><ref>Two contemporary works also showing the contemporary interest in matters Turkish were Giovanni Paolo Marana's ''[[Letters Writ by a Turkish Spy]]'' and [[Montesquieu]]'s ''[[Persian Letters]]''.</ref> Mozart's opera includes a [[Turkish music (style)|Westernized version of Turkish music]], based very loosely on the Turkish [[Janissary Music|Janissary band music]].<ref>[https://interlude.hk/mozart-die-entfuhrung-aus-dem-serail-k-384-premiered-today-1782/ "Mozart: ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'' K. 384 "] by Georg Predota, interlude.hk, 16 July 2018</ref>
Certain aspects of the opera conform to an eighteenth-century European view of [[orientalism]]. The Pasha's titular harem, for example, reprised themes of sexual libertinage. And the comically sinister overseer, Osmin, is a send-up of earlier stereotypes of Turkish despotism.<ref>{{harvnb|Osterhammel|1998}} notes: "{{lang|de|italic=unset|Neben das alte Bild des dämonisierten Feindes trat in der künstlerischen Repräsentation nun der übertölpelte Buffo-Türke, wie man ihn als Haremswächter Osmin auf Mozarts ''Entführung aus dem Serail'' (1782) kennt.}}" [Next to the older image of the demonised enemy stood the over-the-top Turkish Buffoon in cultural representation, such as the Harem overseer Osmin from Mozart's ''Abduction from the Seraglio''.] p.&nbsp;34</ref> However, the opera also defies the stereotype of despotic Turkish culture, since its climax entails a selfless act of forgiveness on the part of the Pasha.<ref>Others have suggested that the Pasha is portrayed positively for acting like a Christian. This argument is made in {{cite book|last=Head|first=Matthew|title=Orientalism, Masquerade and Mozart's Turkish Music|publisher=Royal Musical Association|year=2000|isbn=9780947854089}}{{page needed|date=April 2020}} and possibly implied by Mary Hunter who says that he is "represented as European by his act of mercy", in {{cite book|last=Hunter|first=Mary|chapter=The ''Alla Turca'' Style|editor-last=Bellman|editor-first=Jonathan|editor-link=Jonathan Bellman|title=The Exotic in Western Music|publisher=Northeastern University Press|year=1998|isbn=9781555533205|pages=64–65}}.</ref>
The music includes some of the composer's most spectacular and difficult arias. Osmin's act 3 aria "{{lang|de|italic=no|[[O, wie will ich triumphieren]]}}" includes characteristic 18th century [[coloratura]] passage work, and twice goes down to a low [[D (musical note)|D]] ([[Scientific pitch notation|D<sub>2</sub>]]), one of the lowest notes demanded of any voice in opera.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manitobaopera.mb.ca/learn/trivia.html|title=Learn About Opera|access-date=18 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222012920/http://www.manitobaopera.mb.ca/learn/trivia.html|archive-date=22 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Perhaps the most famous aria in the opera is the long and elaborate "{{lang|de|italic=no|Martern aller Arten}}" ("Tortures of all kinds") for Konstanze, an outstanding challenge for sopranos. Konstanze sings in a kind of [[sinfonia concertante]] with four solo players from the orchestra; the strikingly long orchestral introduction, without stage action, also poses problems for stage directors.<ref>For discussion, see {{harvnb|Rosen|1997|loc=165}}<!-- and {{harvnb|Eisen|2006|loc=164–165}}{{incomplete short citation|date=July 2020|reason=Which Eisen 2006 is meant here?}} -->.</ref>
The virtuosity of these roles is perhaps attributable to the fact that when he took up the task of composing the opera, Mozart already knew the outstanding reputations of the singers for whom he was writing, and he tailored the arias to their strengths.<ref name="abert" /> The first Osmin was [[Ludwig Fischer (bass)|Ludwig Fischer]], a bass noted for his wide range and skill in leaping over large intervals with ease. Similarly, Mozart wrote of the first Konstanze, [[Caterina Cavalieri]], "I have sacrificed Konstanze's aria a little to the flexible throat of Mlle. Cavalieri."<ref>{{cite book|last=Cairns|first=David|author-link=David Cairns (writer)|title=Mozart and His Operas|page=135|publisher=Penguin UK|year=2007|isbn=9780141904054}}</ref>
==Reception==
[[File:Entfuhrung aus dem Serail484.jpg|thumb|Mozart (at center) attended a performance of his own opera {{lang|de|Die Entführung aus dem Serail}} while [[Mozart's Berlin journey|visiting Berlin]] in 1789. Franz Frankenberg performed the role of Osmin, Friedrich Ernst Wilhelm Greibe played Pedrillo.<ref>{{cite book|title=Starší divadlo v českých zemích do konce 18. století|editor-last=Jakubcová|editor-first=Alena|year=2007|publisher=Divadelní ústav, Academia|location=Prague|isbn=978-80-200-1486-3|page=707|language=cs}}</ref>]] The opera was a huge success. The first two performances brought in the large sum of 1200 florins.{{sfn|Deutsch|1965|loc=201}} The work was repeatedly performed in Vienna during Mozart's lifetime,<ref>For a listing see {{harvnb|Deutsch|1965|loc=201}}.</ref> and throughout German-speaking Europe.<ref>See the index entry for the opera in {{harvnb|Deutsch|1965}}. The Stuttgart premiere had to wait until 19 September 1795, because the singspiel {{lang|de|Belmont und Constanze}}, set to the same story by Christian Ludwig Dieter (1757–1822), first performed there in 1784, was so popular as to preclude any performances of Mozart's version; ''[[Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'', 5th ed, 1954, [[Eric Blom]], ed.</ref> In 1787, [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]] wrote (concerning his own efforts as a librettist):
{{quote|text=All our endeavour ... to confine ourselves to what is simple and limited was lost when Mozart appeared. ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'' conquered all, and our own carefully written piece has never been so much as mentioned in theater circles.<ref>Quoted from {{harvnb|Deutsch|1965|loc=305}}. The work of his own to which Goethe refers is his ''[[Scherz, List und Rache]]''.</ref>}}
Although the opera greatly raised Mozart's standing with the public as a composer, it did not make him rich: he was paid a flat fee of 100 Imperial [[ducat]]s (about 450 [[florin]]s) for his work, and made no profits from the many subsequent performances.{{sfn|Deutsch|1965|loc=202}}
The opera reached Paris in November 1801, when [[Frédéric Blasius]] conducted Ellmenreich's company in performances at the {{lang|fr|[[Théâtre de la Gaîté (boulevard du Temple)|Théâtre de la Gaîté]]}}.<ref>Noiray, Michel. "Blasius [Blassius], (Matthieu-)Frédéric" in [[Stanley Sadie]], ed., ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]'', 4 vols. (London: Macmillan, 1992), 1: 498</ref>
The American premiere in English was given by the [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]] Opera Company on November 1, 1926<ref>"Mozart's Seraglio Given Its American Premiere", ''[[Rochester Times-Union|Times-Union]]'' (Rochester), November 2, 1926.</ref> under the direction of [[Vladimir Rosing]]. A second production with a new English libretto by [[Robert A. Simon]] was debuted by the [[American Opera Company]] at the [[Gallo Opera House]] in New York on January 31, 1928.<ref>"Mozart's ''Abduction From the Seraglio'' by the American Opera Company", ''[[New York Herald Tribune]]'', February 3, 1928.</ref> and was then performed on tour in Boston and Chicago.<ref>"Final Opera of Americans Gayest of All", ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', April 17, 1928.</ref>
==="Too many notes"===
The complexity of Mozart's work noted by Goethe also plays a role in a well-known tale about the opera which appeared in the early (1798) biography of Mozart by [[Franz Xaver Niemetschek]]. In the version of the anecdote printed in ''[[John Bartlett (publisher)|Bartlett]]'s Book of Anecdotes'', a reference work, the story is told like this:
{{quote|text=The Emperor [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]] commissioned the creation of ''The Abduction from the Seraglio'', but when he heard it, he complained to Mozart, "That is too fine for my ears – there are too many notes." Mozart replied, "There are just as many notes as there should be."{{sfn|Bernard|Fadiman|2000|loc=339}}}}
The authenticity of this story is not accepted by all scholars.<ref>See Schmidt-Hensel, and references cited there.</ref> Moreover, the version given by the Bartlett reference (and many other places) includes a translation of the original German that is dubious. The original reads: "{{lang|de|Zu schön für unsere Ohren, und gewaltig viel Noten, lieber Mozart!}}"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/nc/ueber-uns/presse/detail/article/2006-10-16-362.html|url-status=dead|title='... gewaltig viele Noten, lieber Mozart!'. Die Mozart-Autographe der Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin|language=de|date=October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224154541/http://staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/nc/ueber-uns/presse/detail/article/2006-10-16-362.html|archive-date=2010-12-24|type=exhibition notes by Roland Dieter Schmidt-Hensel|publisher=[[Berlin State Library]]}}</ref>
"Too many notes" is not a plausible translation of the German phrase "{{lang|de|gewaltig viel Noten}}". Mautner, translating Niemetschek, renders this as "an extraordinary number of notes",{{sfn|Niemetschek|1956|loc=33}} while [[Peter Branscombe|Branscombe]] translates it simply as "very many notes".{{sfn|Branscombe|2006|loc=165}} William Stafford translates the phrase as "Too beautiful for our ears, and an enormous number of notes, dear Mozart!"<ref>{{cite book|last=Stafford|first=William|year=1991|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0F06FBa3eQC&pg=PA14 14]|title=The Mozart Myths: A Critical Reassessment|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=9780804722223}}</ref> The anecdote, which is often repeated, is considered by some scholars to unfairly give the Emperor a bad reputation concerning both his musical abilities and his appreciation and support of Mozart.{{sfn|Beales|2006|loc=238–239}}
==Roles==
{| class="wikitable"
|+{{sronly|Roles, voice types, premiere cast}}
!Role
![[Voice type]]
!Premiere cast, 16 July 1782<br />Conductor: [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|W. A. Mozart]]
|-
|Belmonte, ''a Spanish nobleman''
|[[tenor]]
|[[Valentin Adamberger]]
|-
|Konstanze, ''betrothed to Belmonte''
|[[soprano]]
|[[Caterina Cavalieri]]
|-
|Blonde,<ref>Blonde's beloved Pedrillo addresses her as "{{lang|de|italic=no|Blondchen}}," the German [[List of diminutives by language|diminutive]] form of her name. Blonde is also occasionally called Blondchen in program notes and similar contexts. See {{harvnb|Hughes|1971|loc=34}}.</ref> ''Konstanze's English maid''
|soprano
|[[Therese Teyber]]
|-
|Pedrillo, ''Belmonte's servant''
|tenor
|[[Johann Ernst Dauer]]
|-
|Osmin, ''overseer for the Pasha''
|[[bass (voice type)|bass]]
|[[Ludwig Fischer (bass)|Ludwig Fischer]]
|-
|Bassa Selim, ''the Pasha''
|spoken role
|Dominik Jautz
|-
|Klaas, ''boatman''
|spoken role
|''unknown''
|-
| colspan="3" |''Chorus of Janissaries''{{sfn|Rushton|2002}}<ref>{{cite web|title=''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'': Introduction – Opera Libretti|url=https://www.naxos.com/education/opera_libretti.asp?pn=&char=ALL&composer=Mozart&opera=Die_Entfuhrung_aus_dem_Serail&libretto_file=0_Introduction.htm|publisher=[[Naxos Records|Naxos]]|access-date=25 November 2019|archive-date=8 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208231655/https://www.naxos.com/education/opera_libretti.asp?pn=&char=ALL&composer=Mozart&opera=Die_Entfuhrung_aus_dem_Serail&libretto_file=0_Introduction.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|}
==Instrumentation==
[[File:Die Entführung aus dem Serail ouverture.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Autograph manuscript of the beginning of the overture]]
The singers perform with a [[Classical period (music)|Classical-era]] orchestra: pairs of [[western concert flute|flute]]s, [[oboe]]s, [[clarinet]]s, [[bassoon]]s, [[Natural horn|horn]]s, [[Natural trumpet|trumpets]], a set of two [[timpani]], and [[string section|strings]]. They are augmented with the instruments needed for [[Turkish music (style)|"Turkish" music]]: tamburo grande (tamburo turco), [[cymbal]]s, [[triangle (musical instrument)|triangles]], and [[piccolo]]. The aria "{{Lang|de|Traurigkeit ward mir zum Lose|italic=no}}" is augmented by two [[basset horn]]s.
The orchestra for the premiere included a number of eminent musicians of the day: first cellist [[Joseph Franz Weigl]], first oboist [[Josef Triebensee]], second horn [[Joseph Leutgeb]], and the clarinettist brothers [[Anton Stadler|Anton]] and [[Johann Stadler]]. In the first violin section was [[Josepha Weber|Franz de Paula Hofer]], who later became Mozart's brother-in-law.{{sfn|Edge|1992|loc=72–73}} The four musicians who played the "Turkish" instruments remain anonymous, though it is known that they were recruited for this purpose by one Franz Tyron, [[Kapellmeister]] of the Austrian Second Field Artillery Regiment.{{sfn|Edge|1992|loc=75}}
==Synopsis==
:Place: the country house of the Pasha (German "Bassa"), in Turkey
:Time: 16th century<ref>{{cite book|author1=C. F. Bretzner|editor1-last=Bloch|editor1-first=John W.|title=The Abduction from the Seraglio (libretto)|date=1962|publisher=[[G. Schirmer]]|location=New York|page=IV}}</ref>
===Act 1===
[[File:Costume Study for Osmin in the "Abduction from the Seraglio" by W.A. Mozart MET DP830226.jpg|alt=Standing man in Ottoman outfit and long dark beard|thumb|upright|Costume study for Osmin, ca. 1830–50, by Christof Fries, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]]]
After a lively overture Belmonte enters, looking for his betrothed, Konstanze, who, with her English servant, Blonde, has fallen into the hands of pirates and been sold to [[Pasha]] Selim (Aria: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Hier soll ich dich denn sehen}}" – "Here surely I must find her").<ref>English titles from ''[http://www.chandos.net/Details06.asp?CNumber=CHAN%203081 The Abduction From the Seraglio]'', [[Chandos Records]] CHAN 3081 (2002)</ref> Osmin, the Pasha's bad-tempered servant, comes to pluck [[Common fig|fig]]s in the garden and contemptuously ignores Belmonte's questions (Aria: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Wer ein Liebchen hat gefunden}}" – "You may think, you've found a maiden"). Belmonte tries to obtain news of his servant, Pedrillo, who has been captured with the women and is serving as a servant in the Pasha's palace. Osmin replies with insults and abuse (Duet: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Verwünscht seist du samt deinem Liede!}}" – "The devil take you and your song, sir"). Belmonte leaves in disgust. Pedrillo enters and Osmin rages at him, vowing to get him tortured and killed in many different ways (Aria: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Solche hergelaufne Laffen}}" – "These young men who go a-spying"). Osmin leaves and Belmonte enters and happily reunites with Pedrillo. Together, they resolve to rescue Konstanze and Blonde, who is Pedrillo's fiancée (Aria: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Konstanze, Konstanze, dich wiederzusehen … O wie ängstlich}}" – "Konstanze, Konstanze, to see thee again … Oh what trembling").
Accompanied by a chorus of [[Janissaries]] ("{{lang|de|italic=no|Singt dem großen Bassa Lieder}}" – "Sing to the mighty Pasha Selim"), Pasha Selim appears with Konstanze, for whose love he strives in vain (Aria of Konstanze: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Ach ich liebte}}" – "How I loved him"). Pedrillo tricks the Pasha into hiring Belmonte as an architect. When Belmonte and Pedrillo try to enter the palace, Osmin bars their way, but they hurry past him anyway (Terzett: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Marsch! Marsch! Marsch! Trollt euch fort!}}" – "March! March! March! Clear off!").
===Act 2===
[[File:Costume Study for Blonde in the "Abduction from the Seraglio" by W.A. Mozart MET DP830229.jpg|alt=Standing woman with long braided hair|thumb|upright|Costume study for Blonde by Fries]]
<!--[[File:John frederick lewis-reception1873.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Illustration of the women's quarters in a [[seraglio]], [[John Frederick Lewis]], 1873]]-->
The Pasha has given Blonde to Osmin, to be his slave; however, she defiantly rebuffs her new master's rough lovemaking attempts (Aria: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Durch Zärtlichkeit und Schmeicheln}}" – "With smiles and kind caresses"), threatens to scratch out his eyes, and chases him out of the room (Duet: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Ich gehe, doch rate ich dir}}" – "I'm going, but mark what I say"). Konstanze enters in distress (Aria: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Welcher Wechsel herrscht in meiner Seele … Traurigkeit ward mir zum Lose}}" – "Oh what sorrow overwhelms my spirit … Endless grief tortures my spirit"). The Pasha enters, demands Konstanze's love, and threatens to use force, but she resolutely rejects him. (Aria: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Martern aller Arten}}" – "Tortures unrelenting") Left alone, he muses on her determination to remain chaste, which increases his desire for her.
Pedrillo informs Blonde that Belmonte has come and is planning to rescue them, filling Blonde with joy. (Aria: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Welche Wonne, welche Lust}}" – "Oh, the happy, happy day"). After singing a short ditty to boost his courage (Aria: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Frisch zum Kampfe}}"<ref> The ''[https://dme.mozarteum.at/DME/nma/scan.php?vsep=56&l=1&p1=-23#p-17 New Mozart Edition]'' points out that there is a fine example of Mozartian characterization at the end of this aria, namely when Pedrillo confuses the previous order of "{{lang|de|italic=no|Kampf}}" and "{{lang|de|italic=no|Streit}}" at the end and shouts "{{lang|de|italic=no|Frisch zum Streite! Frisch zum Kampfe! Frisch zum Streite!}}" This new order was often considered a mistake on Mozart's part and was adapted to the previous order; this intervention in Mozart's score can also be heard on most recordings of this opera. </ref> – "Now Pedrillo, now for battle!"), Pedrillo invites Osmin to drink (Duet: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Vivat [[Dionysus|Bacchus]]! Bacchus lebe!}}" – "Here's to Bacchus, long live Bacchus"). Despite his [[Khamr|religious prohibition against alcoholic beverages]], Osmin drinks heavily and falls asleep. Konstanze joins Belmonte who declares his love (Aria: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Wenn der Freude Tränen fließen}}" – "When tears of joy flow"). The two couples reunite (Quartet, Belmonte, Konstanze, Pedrillo, Blonde: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Ach Belmonte! Ach, mein Leben}}" – "Ah, Belmonte, ah my dear one!"). After their initial expressions of love and joy, Belmonte and Pedrillo both question anxiously whether their respective fiancees have remained faithful during their forced separation; to their delight, the women respond with indignation and dismay, and Blonde slaps Pedrillo's face. The two men apologize for their lack of confidence; the women forgive them for their offensive questions.
===Act 3===
Klaas and Pedrillo come to the garden with ladders (Aria, Belmonte: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Ich baue ganz auf deine Stärke}}" – "Love, only love, can now direct me"). Pedrillo attracts the attention of the women by singing a ballad about a rescue similar to the one he is planning (Romanze, Pedrillo: "{{lang|de|italic=no|In Mohrenland gefangen war}}" – "In Moorish lands a maiden fair"). However, Osmin enters, sees the ladders, and rouses the castle. Osmin exults in the prospect of seeing them all hanged (Aria: "{{lang|de|italic=no|[[O, wie will ich triumphieren]]}}" – "My triumphant hour's approaching"). Belmonte pleads for their lives and tells Pasha Selim that his father is a Spanish [[Grandee]] and Governor of [[Oran]], named Lostados, and will pay a generous ransom. Unfortunately, Pasha Selim and Lostados are long-standing enemies. The Pasha rejoices in the opportunity to subject his enemy's son to a horrible death. He leaves Belmonte and Konstanze to bid each other a last farewell; they lovingly assure each other that being tortured to death will be a pleasure, so long as they get tortured to death together (Duet: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Welch ein Geschick! O Qual der Seele.... Weh, du soltest für mich sterben}}" – "What dreadful fate conspires against us.... Woe, you will die because of me"). However, the Pasha then decides that he can make a better point against Lostados by showing mercy and releasing Belmonte and his friends. All are set at liberty – much to the dismay of Osmin (Finale: "{{lang|de|italic=no|Nie werd' ich deine Huld verkennen}}" – "Your noble mercy passes measure").
==Recordings==
{{Main|Die Entführung aus dem Serail discography}}
==Adaptations==
The [[Australian Broadcasting Commission]] made a TV production in 1961 as the English-language ''[[The Abduction from the Seraglio (film)|The Abduction from the Seraglio]]'', using outdoor filming in addition to the stage setting.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Age]]|title=Four TV Opera Debuts in ''The Seraglio''|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8qQUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=s7EDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7385%2C718127|department=TV/Radio Supplement|via=Google News Archive|date=6 April 1961|page=3}}</ref>
The American post-modernist writer [[Donald Barthelme]] wrote a surreal comic short story entitled "The Abduction from the Seraglio" (published in ''[[The New Yorker]]'' in January 1978,<ref>[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1978/01/30/the-abduction-from-the-seraglio "The Abduction From The Seraglio"] by [[Donald Barthelme]], ''[[The New Yorker]]'', 22 January 1978</ref> collected in ''Great Days'', Farrar, Strous & Giroux 1979, and in ''[[Sixty Stories (book)|Sixty Stories]]'', 1981) in which Belmonte, as narrator, is reconfigured into a cowboy sculptor (whose arias are Country & Western songs), Constanze into his ex-lover, a counter-culture free spirit seduced by the Pasha, who in turn is a [[Plymouth automobile]] dealer worth five million dollars a year. Belmonte's rescue attempt fails as Constanze decides to stay with the Pasha, and he is left bereft.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}
Music professor, composer, and humorist [[Peter Schickele]] claims to have "discovered" the fictitive composer [[P. D. Q. Bach]]'s ''[[The Abduction of Figaro]]'' (1984), a [[pastiche]] of the {{lang|de|Entführung}} and Mozart's ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]''.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/30/arts/opera-peter-schickele-s-abduction-of-figaro.html "Opera: Peter Schickele's ''Abduction of Figaro''"] by [[John Rockwell]], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 30 April 1984</ref>
The Finnish composer [[Aulis Sallinen]] wrote an opera called ''[[Palatsi (opera)|The Palace]]'' (first performed 1995); it contains characters whose names are adapted from ''Abduction'' and loosely uses elements of the plot of Mozart's opera as the starting point of a satirical fantasy.<ref>[http://composers.musicfinland.fi/musicfinland/fimic.nsf/0/A0D36DCB163557E6C2257537003FB04D?opendocument "Some Thoughts on ''The Palace''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122081800/http://composers.musicfinland.fi/musicfinland/fimic.nsf/0/A0D36DCB163557E6C2257537003FB04D?opendocument |date=2016-01-22 }} by [[Aulis Sallinen]], musicfinland.fi, 1995</ref>
{{citation needed-span|date=March 2024|text=The children's show ''[[Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?]]'' used an adaptation of the chorus "Singt dem großen Bassa Lieder" ("Sing Songs of the Great Pasha") as the theme song. The [[Carmen Sandiego (TV series)|Netflix series]] also references it in an episode.}}
==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|30em}}
===Sources===
*{{cite book|last=Abert|first=Hermann|author-link=Hermann Abert|year=2007|title=W. A. Mozart|translator=Stewart Spencer|location=New Haven|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-07223-5}} [This is a recent edition of a much older work.]
*{{harvc|last=Beales|first=Derek|author-link=Derek Beales|year=2006|chapter=Joseph II, Joseph(in)ism|in1=Eisen|in2=Keefe|pages=232–239}}
*{{cite book|last1=Bernard|first1=Andre|last2=Fadiman|first2=Clifton|author-link2=Clifton Fadiman|year=2000|title=Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes|location=Boston|publisher=Little, Brown}}
*{{harvc|last=Branscombe|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Branscombe|year=2006|chapter=''Die Entführung aus dem Serail''|in1=Eisen|in2=Keefe}}
*{{cite book|last=Braunbehrens|first=Volkmar|author-link=Volkmar Braunbehrens|year=1990|title=Mozart in Vienna, 1781–1791|translator=Timothy Bell|location=New York|publisher=Grove Weidenfeld}}
*{{cite book|last=Deutsch|first=Otto Erich|author-link=Otto Erich Deutsch|year=1965|title=Mozart: A Documentary Biography|location=Stanford, California|publisher=Stanford University Press}}
*{{cite journal|last=Edge|first=Dexter|author-link=Dexter Edge|year=1992|title=Mozart's Vienna orchestras|journal=[[Early Music (journal)|Early Music]]|issue=20|pages=64–88|doi=10.1093/earlyj/XX.1.64}}
*{{cite book|editor1-last=Eisen|editor1-first=Cliff|editor1-link=Cliff Eisen|editor2-last=Keefe|editor2-first=Simon P.|editor2-link=Simon P. Keefe|year=2006|title=The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
*{{cite book|last=Hughes|first=Spike|author-link=Spike Hughes|year=1971|title=Famous Mozart Operas: An Analytical Guide for the Opera-Goer and Armchair Listener|edition=2nd|location=New York|publisher=Dover}}
*{{cite journal|last=Manning|first=Elizabeth|title=Mozart's ''Entführung'': An Anniversary|journal=[[The Musical Times]]|volume=123|number=1673|type=Early Music Issue|date=July 1982|pages=473–474|doi=10.2307/963241|jstor=963241}}
*{{cite book|last=Niemetschek|first=Franz|author-link=Franz Xaver Niemetschek|year=1956|orig-year=1798|title=Life of Mozart|translator=Helen Mautner|location=London|publisher=Leonard Hyman}}
*{{cite book|last=Osterhammel|first=Jürgen|author-link=Jürgen Osterhammel|year=1998|title=Die Entzauberung Asiens: Europa und die asiatischen Reiche im 18. Jahrhundert|language=de|location=Munich|publisher=C. H. Beck|isbn=978-3-406-44203-2}}
*{{cite book|last=Rosen|first=Charles|author-link=Charles Rosen|year=1997|title=[[The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven]]|location=New York|publisher=Norton}}
*{{cite book|last=Rushton|first=Julian|author-link=Julian Rushton|year=2002|chapter=Entführung aus dem Serail, Die|title=[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.O006411}}
==Further reading==
*{{ill|Leo Melitz|de|lt=Melitz, Leo}}, ''[https://archive.org/details/operagoerscompl00meligoog/page/n5/mode/2up The Opera Goer's Complete Guide]'', 1921 version; [https://archive.org/details/operagoerscompl00meligoog/page/n25/mode/2up pp. 2–3] (Synopsis adapted from this source) – via [[Internet Archive]]
==External links==
{{Commons category|Die Entführung aus dem Serail}}
* {{NMA|56|-99|57|-99}}
* [https://dme.mozarteum.at/dmedata/libredition/single.php?idwnma=4814 Libretto], [[critical edition]]s, [[diplomatic edition]]s, source evaluation (German only), links to online DME recordings; Digital Mozart Edition
*{{IMSLP|work=Die Entführung aus dem Serail, K.384 (Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus)|cname=''Die Entführung aus dem Serail''}}
*[http://opera.stanford.edu/Mozart/Entfuhrung/libretto.html Libretto (singing parts only)]
*[http://opera.stanford.edu/iu/libretti/entfuehr.htm Complete libretto]
*[http://www.operafolio.com/opera.asp?n=Die_Entfuhrung_aus_dem_Serail Synopsis, German/English libretto], Opera Folio
*[https://www.imdb.com/find?q=Die%20Entf%C3%BChrung%20aus%20dem%20Serail&s=tt&ref_=fn_al_tt_mr ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail''], [[IMDb]]
*{{YouTube|7ulfRcAfmAk|"Ich gehe, doch rate ich dir", played by marionettes}}, [[Salzburg Marionette Theatre]]; [[Rita Streich]] sings Blonde, [[Josef Greindl]] Osmin, [[RIAS Symphony Orchestra]], [[Ferenc Fricsay]], 1954
{{Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart}}
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