Mozart: Overture from The Abduction from the Seraglio

An exchange between the Emperor Joseph II and Mozart that supposedly took place after the opera’s premiere in Vienna, 1782: “Too beautiful for our ears, my dear Mozart, and monstrous many notes.” Mozart replied, “Exactly as many as are necessary, Your Majesty.”

Mozart was 26 when this opera premiered and not afraid to stand up for himself, even to the Emperor. The score really does contain a lot of notes - it is a richly conceived and lavishly executed composition in which the composer shows exactly what he was capable of. The Abduction from the Seraglio was the most successful opera during Mozart’s lifetime.

The comic plot presents not one but two pairs of lovers attempting to escape from the harem of the Turkish Pasha Selim, under the gaze of the zealous Osmin. Energy and good humour meet musical exoticism in this work born of the 18th-century fascination with the Orient and there’s no resisting the jangling pulse of percussion that is the opera’s heartbeat.