Mozart Operas

[paulyg]

I'm playing The Magic Flute. Lots of rest (unsurprisingly), but also lots of really beautiful trombone parts!

Are all of Mozart's operas like this? To my knowledge none of his symphonies call for trombones.

[BGuttman]

I think only Don Giovanni also calls for trombones. I'm sure Chris (Blast) can give a more accurate answer.

[CalgaryTbone]

Magic Flute is the best of the Mozart opera parts fro trombones, but yes, Don Giovanni also has some beautiful chorale writing late in the opera for trombones. I believe that there is at least one other opera that has trombones, but it's one of his operas that is not played as frequently as those two. I love Mozart's scoring for trombones with voices, and besides the Requiem and masses, my favorite to play was one of the Vespers for choir and orchestra. The trombones had more significant parts than many of the woodwinds - lots of high E flats though.

Jim Scott

[robcat2075]

Idomeneo is the one remaining user of trombones.

Wiki

3 trombones (only accompanying the off-stage voice of Neptune in act 3)

Sounds like an easy gig.

I've only played the Magic Flute overture in an orchestra, never a whole Mozart opera.

According to WIki there are also two 20th Century re-workings of Idomeneo based on Mozart's score but not using all of it.

[blast]

You guys have it nailed. Idomeneo you hardly play. Giovanni you have your moment of glory in the statue scene, but in Magic Flute you get many glorious moments. These days most professional productions use smaller trombones at the very least.

Chris

[LeTromboniste]

There is one more, Mozart's first opera (sacred opera actually,and he only wrote the first part, but still) Die Schuldigkeit des ersten gebots. No section writing, but a beautiful aria with trombone obbligato, in the Viennese baroque tradition (Fux, Caldara, Ziani et al.).

As noted by Jim, the Vespers are beautiful and very fun to play. All the masses have colla parte trombones as well and some are very, very nice. I played one last Easter where the second trombone part had almost more trills written in it than a solo or concerto!

[CalgaryTbone]

I actually got to play that aria that you're referring to during a Mozart Festival of my orchestra several years ago. Beautiful writing, that sounds a bit more like it's from the Baroque period than the Classical period that we associate with Mozart. He was about 11 years old when he wrote this work.

Jim Scott

[blast]

It's good that these little oddities get an airing. We would never be able to put on an opera with no end, though we do put on concert performances of lesser known operas that can give audiences and performers a renewed perspective on some well known composers.... we are playing Puccini's 'Edgar' in a couple of weeks.... not an opera I knew after 34 years of playing in an opera company !

Chris

[sf105]

The Flute was my introduction to Mozart. Magical (literally)