Utah Opera ends its season with The Abduction from the Seraglio (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Mozart’s delightful Singspiel about two women who end up in a Turkish harem and their fiancés who eventually rescue them. It runs May 10-18 in the Capitol Theatre. It’ll be sung in German with English dialogue.
Abduction was wildly popular when it premiered in 1782, but today it’s been overshadowed by several other Mozart operas — a position it doesn’t deserve, according to conductor Gary Thor Wedow. “Abductionis from a young man at the height of his power,” Wedow said. “It’s filled with, ‘I’m going to show the world what I can do.’ And he did.”
Andrew Stenson as Belmonte and Celena Shafer as Konstanze (Photo: Courtesy Utah Opera)
Both Wedow and stage director Chas Rader-Shieber agreed that Abduction, like much of Mozart’s works, shows who the composer really is — a fascinatingly complex human being who was also one of the greatest musical geniuses who ever lived. “It’s so interesting,” Wedow said. “It shows so much of [Mozart’s] personality — his love of low brow humor, his love of exoticism. It also shows him confronting his own humanity.”
And surprisingly, Mozart wasn’t an innovator the way, say, Richard Wagner was. One of his great accomplishments was to manipulate the rules to suit his purpose, said Rader-Shieber. “Others followed the rules. Mozart played with them.” And the result was music of the highest order. “When Haydn saw Le nozze di Figaro he never wrote another opera,” said Wedow. “He knew he couldn’t compete with Mozart.”
Utah’s favorite soprano Celena Shafer sings the role of Konstanze, and tenor Andrew Stenson is her betrothed Belmonte in this production.
Stenson said that at the core, Abduction really details the couple’s love story. “We’re the serious ones. Abduction is about the nature of their love. Belmonte is willing to travel halfway across the world to find Konstanze.”
For Shafer, it’s important to understand that while she doesn’t know if Belmonte is alive or dead, she remains true to him, even though she is fond of the Pasha and he treats her much better than the other women in his harem. “It has a great message,” she said. “Konstanze will remain faithful to Belmonte, no matter what. True love triumphs in the end.”
In an interesting twist of casting, Utah Opera artistic director Christopher McBeth, who is himself a trained singer, will make his company debut in the speaking role of Pasha Selim. “As we were planning the show, people kept saying I should do the role,” McBeth said. “So I gave in to their collective wisdom.”
Although reluctant at first, McBeth admitted he’s been having a great time. “Chas and the cast have been amazingly supportive, and I have the best seat in the house when the singers are showing off their stuff.”
McBeth said he’s thrilled with this production and believes the public will be in for a good time. “Chas has found new levels of humanity in the story, and he’s bringing it to the same level as other Mozart operas.”
And in a season that’s had three tragic operas, it’s going to be a nice change to have a comic show. “The story has a real happy ending. The production is fanciful, the costumes are saturated in gorgeous colors and hues, and I think audiences will have a lot of fun.
“I think of [Abduction] as the dolce at the end of a very rich meal.”
- PERFORMANCE DETAILS
- What: Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio
- Venue: Capitol Theatre
- Time and Date: 7:30 p.m. May 10, 12, 14, 16; 2 p.m. May 18
- Tickets: $18-$95 ($5 higher when purchased on the day of performance)
- Phone: 801-355-2787 or 888-451-2787
- Web: www.utahopera.org
- ALSO: Special gathering for blind and visually-impaired people at a dress rehearsal of The Abduction from the Seraglio; organized by the Utah Symphony|Utah Opera Education Department; Paula Fowler, the director of education and outreach, and Carol Anderson, principal coach, will talk with the group about the opera, pass around props and prepared fabric samples of costumes, and share information about the set design; Braille translations and large print synopses are available, as well as headsets through which a play-by-play description of the stage action is broadcast from the translator’s booth; Vicki Flake will serve as the spoken version of the opera’s action; the event is an annual collaboration between Utah Opera, the Moran Eye Center and the Utah Council for the Blind; May 7, 6 p.m., Capitol Theatre, free, those wishing to attend can sign up on the USUO Education website at http://www.usuoeducation.org/index.php/families/events-for-individuals-with-special-needs; reservations can also be made at the Moran Eye Center by calling Lynn at 801-585-2213 or by calling The Utah Council of the Blind at 801-299-0670; seating is limited.
- ALSO: “Learn before you go” informative material on The Abduction from the Seraglio, prepared by Dr. Luke Howard of the BYU School of Music, is available at www.utahopera.org/onlinelearning.