Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty

8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty

1/23

Mozart's "felix culpa: Cos fan tutte" and the Irony of BeautyAuthor(s): Scott BurnhamSource: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 78, No. 1 (Spring, 1994), pp. 77-98Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/742494.

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2/23

Mozart's

elix

ulpa:

Cosi

fan

utte

and

he

ronyfBeauty

Scott

urnham

Never

as

an

opera

rawnttention

o tself

n

quite

he

ame

way

s

Mozart'sosifan utte:a scuola eglimanti.tscriticaleceptionas

beenmarked

y

mbivalenceromts

premiere

o

the

presentay.

For

if

he

music

f

Cosi

eems

narguablyumptuous,

eethoven'sell-

known

njunctiongainst

he

perceivedriviality

f he

ibrettoas

rarely

een vercome.

In

thenineteenth

entury

his ttitude

reachedn

extreme;

arious

rasticndnow

nfamous

evisions ere

foisted

pon

he

pera, etaining

he

music

hile

hanging

ome f

thewords reven he ntire

tory.2

oncern

bout hefit

fmusic

and ibrettoontinueso be reflected

n

some f

hemost

mportant

criticismfCosi nour wn entury. hileno one nthis geof he

sacrosanctextwould

o

so far

s to

suggest

ltering

he

ibretto,

riti-

cal ambivalence

ingers

n

attempts

o

account or

he

perceived

is-

junction

fmusic ndwords. till

t

question

s

the

pecific

ffectf

setting

hat s heard s

incomparably

eautiful

usic

o this

articular

libretto.

hus,

Hermann

bert ees he

pera

s

the scent

f

atire

to

rony,

he

humanizationf

talian

pera

uffa.3

olfgang

ildes-

heimer etects kind

f

uperior

arody, "parody

s

discipline,"

inthefact hatMozartortrayseignedmotions ith uch enuine

expression.4

nd

Joseph

ermanlaims

hat

Mozart's usic

makes

clear hat he entralssue

n

the

pera

s

not

Alfonso's

emonstration

of he

predictability

fhuman

ature ut

ather

he

mystery

f

human

feeling.5

Theseviews ll

imply

hatMozart's

usic

perates

t

some is-

tance romhe ibretto.6

orAbert nd

Hildesheimer,

he

music

ecu-

perates

he ibrettovenwhile

tanding

part

rom

t,

either

y

humanizingt,

or

bymakingtsparodisticntentvenmore ointed

(diabolically

o,

as wewill ee

below).

nKerman's

iew,

he

music

puts

tselft oddswith

he

ynicism

f

Da

Ponte'sibrettoand

o

spoils

his

immaculate

lay."'7

The

disparity

etweenmusic

nd

libretto

turns

argely

n the

perception

hat hemusic

eems

obecome

ven

77

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3/23

78

TheMusical

uarterly

more

avishing

nd

heartfeltt

those

oints

n

the

pera

where

he

basestort fdeceptionspracticed:here emightxpect ald om-

edy,

hemusic alls ike scrim

f

melancholy

eauty

ver

he

often

preposterous

ction. t is n

fact his

tmosphere

hat

onstituteshe

peculiar

ascinationf his

pera

ndthat

an evenbe

heard

s

some-

thing

ike

he

pera's

onsciousness

f

tself;

ts

most haracteristic

expression

s found

n

key

reas ome

emove

rom

(as

in

the

E-

major

rio

r

theA-flat

ajor

anon f hefinale

f ct

2, or,

loser

to

C,

in

the erenade

n

E-flatr the ovemusicn A

major).8

What ole sthemusic layingere?nwhat ollows,will

suggest

hat hemusic cts s a locus or

n alternative

oint

f

view

to

that

ssayed

n

the ibretto's

tory,

hus

cting

s a

powerful

ri-

tique

f

Enlightenment

otions freason

ndhuman

ature,

nd,

further,

hat he

uxtaposition

f

ibrettond

music

ltimately

mplies

no less theme han hebirth f onsciousnessndthe

fall fMan.

We

may

egin

y

avesdropping

n a

famous

onversation,

rom

E.

T.

A.

Hoffmann's

The Poet ndthe

Composer":

Ferdinand: ut

can

music

e

expected

o

express

omedy

n all its

nuances?

Ludwig:

am

absolutely

onvinced t

can,

and artists f

genius

have

proved

t

a hundred

imes.

Musiccan

convey,

or

xample,

n

impres-

sion

of the most

delicious

rony,

uch

as

that

pervading

ozart's

plen-

did

pera

osi

an

utte.

Ferdinand: he

thought

ow strikes

me

that,

ccording

o

your rin-

ciple,

the

despised

ibretto f

that

pera

s

in

fact

ruly

peratic.9

With hese

words offmann

ay

avebeen

hefirst

mportant

ritic

to

acknowledge

he

peraticotential

fDa Ponte's

ibretto,

uthe

is

no

longer

he ast.

Yet

recent

pologists

or

he

ibretto

eem

ess

interested

n the

ibretto's

nvitation

o

rony,tressing

nsteadhe

felicities

f ts too

nearly

erfect"

onstruction.

0The

lack

f

psycho-

logical ealismnthe torytselfsfelt obecounteractedy hemusi-

cal

permutations

f ts

haracters.11

here

s no

arguing

ith his

aspect

f he ibretto:

o the onventional

roup

f

wo

airs

f overs

Da Ponte dds wo uffa

haracters

nd nso

doing pens p

a

myriad

of musical combinational

possibilities,

which are

thoroughly xplored

by

Mozart.

Indeed,

this work

has the most ensembles

of

any

Mozart

opera.12



4/23

Mozart's

elix

ulpa

79

Hoffmann,owever,

as

presumably

eacting

o the

lmost

xag-

geratedevels fdramaticronyhat boundnCosi, ronyirectly

attributable

o the ibretto.

o

begin

with,

achcharacter-or

air

f

characters

n

the aseof he overs-has different

mpression

fwhat

is real

ndwhat s

feigned,

eading

o an ever

resent

nd

complexly

textured

rony

hat hifts

ubtly

ith

very

xit

ndentrance.

Throughout

he

play

withinhe

play,

ut

specially

n

the

finale f

thefirst

ct,

hemen

n

particular

ind

hemselves

evilishly

ickled

by

he

rony

f

heir

redicament:

hey

rehonor ound o

act

out

their arce sconvincinglyspossible,ndderive o littlenjoyment

from

heir uccess

n

so

doing

"Un

quadretto

ihi

iocondo

on

'"

visto

n

questo

mondo").

t

the ame

ime,

hey

egin

o

apprehend

the

utcome

f heir

uccess

"Ne

vorreihe tanto

oco erminasse

n

quel

d'amor.").

inally,

he

ntire

lay perates

t a

constant

nd

overriding

evel fdramatic

rony.

s Charles

osen as

observed,

a

Ponte'sibretto

itsnto

tradition

f

ighteenth-century

emonstra-

tion

lays.

hese

plays

were

ntendedo

expose

ome

spect

fhuman

naturey ngagingnan"experiment"ithin closed nvironment.

The conclusion

s known

n

advance;

he nteresties

n

the

psycho-

logical

teps

hat eadto

t.13

Thus,

Da Ponte's

tory

ot

only

ro-

vides or

many

ituations

hat re

dramatically

ronic

mong

he

people

n the

tage

truth

or

ome haracterss

deception

or

thers),

but hewhole

nfoldingtory

s

dramatically

ronic

or lfonso

nd,

by

xtension,

he udience.

But

part

rom

roviding

ozart

ith

he ccasion or

delicious

irony"

nd

with

suggestive

rray

f

hifting

nsembles,

henature f

Da Ponte'storyllowsMozartoexploreheparadoxicalelationship

of ruthnd

llusions

it

obtains

n

art

nd

n

human

onsciousness.

Thismost haracteristicnd

puzzlingspect

f

Cosi

an

uttes

epito-

mized

n

the wo ceneswe

willnow

xamine:he

feigned

arewell

n

thefirstct

andthe eduction

uet

ung y

Ferrandond

Fiordiligi

near

he

ndof

the econd ct.

(Access

o

a

score,

ither ocal r

orchestral,

ill

acilitate

better

nderstanding

f he

following

iscussion.)

When ruth

ills

ruth,

devilish-holyray

-A

Midsummer

ight's

ream,

.2

The several umbers

onstituting

he farewellceneof thefirst

act

convey

ointedly

he

unsettling

elationship

f truth nd illusion

in

this

opera.

As the action nd music

rogress

romhe E-flat

major

quintet

o the

E-major

rio,

his

relationshipeepens

nto

paradox.



5/23

80

TheMusical

uarterly

The

scene

s

announced

y

Don Alfonso's

alting

-minor

rioso

no.

5), in which eappriseshewomenf he alamityoncerningheir

lovers. his

alamity

s,

of

ourse,

othing

ther han hemen's

re-

tended all to

military

uty,

eaving

heirmmediateuturesncertain

in

the

yes

f heir rideso

be.

Don Alfonso's

ntrance

hus

marks

thefirst

tage

f

he

play

within

he

play.

he next ive

umbers

orm

an

extended

arewellcene

onsisting

f

quintet,

uettino,horus,

another

uintet

ollowed

y

horus,

ndthe

E-major

erzettino.

The

quintet

o. 6

presents

hemen ndwomen

ogether

or he

first

ime,

ccompanied

y

Don Alfonso. he

key

f

E-flat

ajor

nd

its peningriadictatementend degreef olemnitysthemen

profess

heir

nability

o

express

ust

how errible

hey

eel

bout heir

imminent

eparture.

nswering

n

the

dominant,

he

women leave

closely

o

one

another

n

a texture

onsisting

ainly

f

parallel

hirds.

They

eact

n

an

exaggerated

anner,

sking

hemen o

plunge

knivesnto heir

osoms,

melodramaticouch hat s noted

n

the

music

y

he

brief

ssumption

fB-flat inor. oon thewomenre

calling

or

eath

ather

han

he

orrow

f

parting,

n

a

series

f

rising

statementsver nagitatedtringexturend pedal oint n B-flat.

This

displaytrengthens

hemen's onfidence

n

the

fidelity

f heir

lovers,

utwhen

hey ay,

See,

told

you

o,"

to Don

Alfonso,

e

quietly

rges

hem o be

patient

ndwait or

he ndresult

f

their

ruse

mm. 0-46).

His

smiling

dmonishment

inglehandedly

rings

themusic ack o

E-flat

ajor.

here

ollows

neof

Mozart's

reat

sotto oce

passages,

hich,

s

in

other

xamples

f his

ind,

s

suf-

fused

ith sense f wewithwhat as

transpired.

nd,

ndeed,

he

text nvokeshedestructiveresencefFate.Thispassagesfollowed

by

returnf

heB-flat

edal oint

ectionndthe

gitated

utcries

of he

women,

hereupon

on

Alfonso

gain rings

veryone

ack o

E-flat,

nd

the

otto

oce

passage

s

recapitulated.

he

quintet

loses

with

peroration

hat onsists

argely

f he nteractionfFerrando's

musicaline

with hat f he

women,

roviding

hefirstvidencehat

Ferrandos somewhat

ore

ympathetic

usically

ith hem han

s

Guglielmo,

ho ften

airs

with on Alfonso

n

ike ituations.

The emotion

xpressed

n this

uintet

s

only

ncipient

nd s

primarilyharacterizedy he ssumptionf onventional,xaggerated

responses.

he

sotto oce ections

ring

he

participants

omewhat

out

of heir onventionalized

ehaviornto

omething

ore

umanly

emotional.As Abert

notes,however,

Mozart

rings

sto the thresh-

old of

emotional nvolvement

Rahrung)

erebutdoesnot et us

step

over it.14

Don Alfonso olds he

entire

uintet

n

equilibrium

ith

his

cool,

admonitory

one and his

musical oleof

bringing

ack the

tonic.He is

truly

n

charge

t

the

moment.



6/23

Mozart's

elix

ulpa

81

Ferrando

nd

Guglielmo's

uettino

o.

7

then

ollows,

short

piece ungmostlynthirds hereinhemen dopt rather echani-

cal attitude

f

hope

for

happy

eunion.

Many

roductions

f

Cosi

have

een

fit o

drop

his ittle

umber,

hich

s'probably

tacit

acknowledgment

f tsfailureo sustainhe

burgeoning

motional

tone f he

pieces

urrounding

t

no.

6 andno. 9 in

particular],

ut

which

may

lso

imply

eflecthe

desire o

trim he

east

ndispensable

numbers

f

long pera.

5)

The

chorusnters ext nd

ings

humorous

ncomiumf

military

ife,

omplete

ith

attleground

sound ffects.ts

presence

n the

tage rovides

visible

pur

f

urgencyothemen's arewell,ncouraginghem oget n with t.

The

F-major

uintet

o.

9

presents

he ctual arewell

cene,

nd

it

deepens

onsiderably

he

motionalituationhatwe eft

n

theno.

6

quintet.

ormally,

o.

9

is a

kind

frounded

inary,

he

firstec-

tion

onsisting

armonically

f

he

imple

uccession

f

tonic

nd

dominant,

he

econd

ection f

much

more enturesomearmonic

traversal

f

F

major

ollowed

y

returnf ome

f

hefirst

ection.

The

opening

f he

uintet

resents

he

women

obbingly

eminding

themen owrite o themvery ay.A note f uppressions nherent

in the

ccompaniment,

ith ts

tubbornnsistencen

C,

the

fifth

degree

f

F,

as

the

upper

imit

fthemelodicndharmonic

otion.

The static

epetition

f his ote nforceshe

feeling

f he ob-

suppressed

ocal

ines. he music

imply

annot ise

rom

hat

,

but

must

un

somberreadmill

ntil he

ingers

avemasteredheir

sobs.

6

Two measures

efore he end

of

the first

ection,

on

Alfonso

adds

his

ronic

side,

lo

crepo

e nonrido."He

appropriates

he

nly

part f his articularusicalexturehat ould ccommodate

remark

n

that

pirit-the

ass

ine.We

suddenly

ecomemore ware

ofthat ass

ine nd

ts

arousel-liketerations.

n

singinglong

with

thebass

ine,

Don Alfonso

oints

utthe

dramatic

rony

hat

iterally

lies t the

bottom

f hismusical

exture;

e drawsttention

o an

aspect

f

hemusical

machinery

f

he

passage,

s

if

revealing

he

motorized

orks

ropelling

he

puppets

round n the

tage

bove.

But

Don

Alfonso'sote

f

rony

s

stayed,

or

n m.

7

a

remark-

able

metamorphosis

akes

lace.

Several

hings

appen ogether

ere:

thewomen bandonheirobbingighthotes nd tartingingeal

lines,

Fiordiligi

nitiating

hisnew tackwith much waited

eap

from

C to

F;

the

first

iolins,

cknowledgingiordiligi's

enture,

lso break

away

from hat

tatic

C

(it

is as

if

the

strength

o

pull away

fromhe

gravity

f thatC was needed

before

nythingruly

musical ould

hap-

pen);

and theharmonic

rogression

eaves

ts

tonic nd

dominant

nd

indulges

n a

suave

perusal

f

somemore

utlying

armonies. he

women's

wo

ines

ctually

merge

nd form ne

line,

whichdescends



7/23

82

The

Musical

uarterly

from

2

to

Al.

They

sk hemen o

stay

aithfulo

them,

not

untraditionaloncernfwomen hose oversreoffo thewars. he

men,

owever,

espond

ith

simple

Addio,"

n

a setofoctave

leaps

ollowed

y

falling

hirds,

onnected

y

common

itch,

l

(althougheparated

y

wo

eats).

Again,

n F is

emphasized

s

the

starting

oint

f

descent,

n

upper

oundary.

he

women

espond

together

ith heir wn

Addio,"

n which

iordiligi,hrough

neighborigure,egains

he

F2,

nowharmonized

eceptively

y

vi.

In

m. 15

thefourovers

ing

ogether

ver n

extended six-five/V

with heF2 ontop,yet nother armonizationf heF. When

Fiordiligi

orks

p

chromatically

o

G2

in m.

16,

wefeel

ust

how

great

distance

hatwhole

tep

as

become ecause f he

previous

near-inviolability

fF as an

upper

oundary.

he

text t

this

oint

s

"Mi si divide

l

cor";

iordiligi's

ove o G2

truly

eems

stretch,

f

not

division,

f heheart. he

four-part

ocal exture orks own

to

Fl and cadence

n m.

19--again

eceptive

nd

llowing

more

florid

epetition

f

mm.

15-19--and

hen adences

uthentically

n

m. 23. In this

ection

f

he

uintet

he

music

wells ith

motion;the

puppets

f hefirstewmeasuresave ssumed

quite

alpable

humanity.

What ollows

s thebriefeturnf he

pening

usic,

n which

the overs

ing

series f

Addios,"

hile on Alfonso

gain

ides

the

bass

inewith is

cynical

side.The tonic-dominantarousel

brings

iordiligi

roundo the

F2

threemore

imes,

uther ide

nds,

significantlynough,

ack n

C.

She

never id ttain hat

igh

in

anymusically

onvincing

ay

fter

all--it

was itherhe tart

f

descentm. 7), theupper oal one f deceptiveadencem.14),

theunstable

eventhf

V

six-five/Vhord

which

miraculously

pulls

p

to

g

(mm.

16 and

20),

resolving

o e a measure

ater,

r

here,

in

the

final

ection,

n

untenable

pper

imit hat s denied

y

he

strings

nd

pulled

own

o ts nitialevel n

C.

Fiordiligi's

ttempts

to reach "true"

,

to break

onclusively

ith er

puppet-string

,

form

herecordf

decidedly

uman

truggle.

The

piece

s a whole ffersn

interesting

hapter

n our on-

tinuingarewellcene, or ereDon Alfonso'sole s reversedrom

that

f heno. 6

quintet. uring

hemiddleection f

no.

9,

in

which sudden

yricism

akes

light

romhe

obbing

erry-go-round

of

he

first

ection,

on

Alfonso'soice s silenced.

e does

not,

s

in

no.

6,

propel

he

music ackto tonic.He is reduced

n

no.

9

to

restricting

is

asides

o those

parts

f

the music

hat

implistically

reiteratehe tonic nddominant

armonies.

s soon as

the

music,

in

an

implied

ncrease f

humanity,

oves

beyond

he

puppet-like



8/23

Mozart's

elix

ulpa

83

prologue

nd dentifies

ith he motionsf real

arting,

hevoice

ofdramaticronystemporarilyuspended.he returno the pening

music

s

a

shocking

eminder

hat

hewhole

iece

s

based n but

feignedarting

fter

ll.

After

his

uintet,

hemen

et

nto he

departing

oats

ndthe

military

horuss

repeated.

he

twowomen ndDon Alfonso

tay

behind

nd

ing

traveler'senedictionor

heir

eparting

riends.

This

piece,

he

erzettino

o.

10

in E

major,

s

one of hemost

ouch-

ingly

eautifulumbers

n

all of

opera

nd

s

a crux or his

pera.

Theres noclue,withinheboundsfthis umber,hatwe aredeal-

ing

with

nything

ut real

ituation,

real

parting

nd ts

oncomi-

tant orrows

nd

hopes.

More han

hat,

he cene

ecomes

mble-

matic f

ll real

partings,

or he otto oce haracterf

hewhole

s

not

only

eminiscent

f ome f he

great

orpresa

cenes romnsem-

bles

n

Figaro

nd

Don

Giovanni,

ut lsoreacheslmost

eyond

mo-

tion,

uspending

he haracters

n

a

timelesslyymbolic

oment

n

which

estiny

nd

human

motion,

he ublimend

the

pathetic,

seem o

merge.

ozart'subtle one

ainting

s at

theheart fthis

magic;

he ubdued aveletiguresf hemutediolins,

ending

usi-

cal

support

o

the

extually

xpressed

ish or

mooth inds nd

tran-

quil

eas,

provide

he

ype

f

tylized

oncretiono essential

o the

creationf

n

artistic

ymbol.

hese

gentle

aves

eem o

ap

at

our

souls romome

reat

ommunalea

of

human orrownd

hope.

Don

Alfonso,

ar rom

ndermining

he

music,

s

washis

wont

n

no. 6

andno.

9,

is

now

aught p,

eemingly,

n

the

very

entimentse

was

previously

o keen

o mock.

Afterhe

pedalpoint

n

B

of

mm.

22-27,he nowmarkshereturno tonicwith rhapsodicecoration

of

the onic

riad,

ndicating

ot

ts

banality,

s

he did n

no.

9,

but

its

xpressiveotential.

The harsh

ight

f

reality

loodshe

tage mmediately

fter

his

piece,

however.

on

Alfonso,

ho

eemedo

caught

p

n

the

rio,

now

ompliments

imselfor

is

cting

alentsnd

proceeds

o

offer

hisownwind-and-water

iece, considerably

ustier

ersionhat

compares

rusting

woman's

eart o

plowing

he

ea,

strewing

eeds

insand, ndtryingocatch hewindnnets.This lastword" nds

the cene ndonce

gain

rings

he

udience ack

o the

uncomfort-

ablerealization

hat

what

hey

ust

awwas

feint.

The

wholefarewellcene as

I

have

described

t

shows remark-

able

progression

n

terms

oth

of the

emotions fthe overs s well

as

of the ronic bservationsf Don

Alfonso. he conventionalizedut-

burstsf sorrow

n

no.

6,

mixedwith he hintof

something

ore

heartfelt,

rogress

o

the constrained

yricism

f

no.

9, which,

or



9/23

84

TheMusical

uarterly

somemoments,rulyxpressesnemotionalontent. his nturn

moves o

no.

10,

whereinn

emotion

s

captured

nd

ustained

throughout

he ntire

iece.Correspondingly,

he evel

fDon Alfon-

so's

underminingrony

s

reduced

hrough

he ourse

fthe

hree

pieces

rom

controlling

orce

n

no. 6

to

that

xercised

y

n inside

commentator

n no.

9

and,

finally,

o

nothing,

uch

hat

e

even

seems o convert

o the

ther

ide

n

no.

10.

There,

Alfonsoan

only

play

herole

f

he utside

ommentator,

ne

whomust xercise

is

irony

utsidehebounds f he

piece.

Inspite f he nterjectionsfDonAlfonso,hemusicf his

whole cene eems ver

ualified

or he ask

llotted

t

by

he

libretto.t does ts

ob

toowell.

Consequently,

ozart's

usic

ffects

a

paradoxical

ransformation

f

llusion

nto

ruth,

transformation

that s

gradually

chieved

ith

nsurpassble

rtistrynly

o be ban-

ished

gnobly

ith he

Mephistophelian

xplosion

fDon Alfonso's

parting

hot.

ruth

ndeed

ills

ruth,

utwhich ruthemains

n

this

"devilish-holy

ray,"

lfonso'srMozart's?ndwe are

empted

s

well oask,who s aughingt whom ere?sMozartaughingt his

characters

y aunting

heir

uppet

xistence ith

limpses

f

human-

ity?

s he

laughing

t us

by

aking

s

n with

is ublime

eigning?

s

he

laughing

t himself

y

llustrating

hat

venmusic

hat

s n

the

service

f

deception

an be

truly

ublime?

The

only

onclusion e

can

reach s that

t s

ndeedMozart

who

s

doing

he

aughing.

r is he?

Could

he

be

identifying

eri-

ously

with hese

uppets?

n

response

o such

uestions,

e

may

well espond,ith harles osen, hat even o ask sto miss he

point.

.

. The art nthesematterss to tell ne's

tory

ithout

eing

foolishly

aken

n

by

t and

yet

without trace fdisdain or ts

ppar-

ent

implicity.

t is

an artwhich an become

rofound

nly

when he

attitude

f

uperiority

ever

mplies

ithdrawal,

hen

bjectivity

and

cceptance

re

ndistinguishable."17

ater,

will

ttempt

o

com-

plement

nd

complete

his bservation

y

howing

ow uch n art

is

ndeed

rofound;

or

ow,

et

Rosen's

dmonition

tand

n

the

manner

f

half-cadence,

ettingprovisional

lose o

our

present

questioning.

Audrey:

do notknow

what

poetical'

s:

s t honest

n word nd

deed?

Is

t

true

hing?

Touchstone:

o,

truly;

or he

truest

oetry

s the most

eigning;

nd

lovers re

given

o

poetry;

nd what

hey

wear

n

poetry,

may

be

said,

as

lovers,

hey

o

feign.

As

You Like

t,

3.3



10/23

Mozart's

elix

ulpa

85

If hefarewellcene irstevealshis pera'sendencyohovermbig-

uously

etween

ruthnd

llusion-and etweenmotional

roximity

and

ronic

distance--the

econd-acteduction

uet

no. 29)

featuring

Ferrandond

Fiordiligirings

his

undamental

mbiguity

o a shatter-

ingly ersonalmpasse.

he

stage

as

been

etfor his uet

y

he

followingontingencies:

orabella

as

already

allen,

hifting

ramatic

weight

nto

Fiordiligi'sontinuing

esistanceo

Ferrando.

hus,

er-

rando

s

now

doubly

motivatedo

complete

he

eduction

n

order o

wreak

evenge

n

Guglielmo,

ho an

barely

estrainis

beaming

complacencyong noughosympathizeith isdeceived riend.n

addition,

e

havebecome

radually

ware

f

musicalnd

motional

attributeshared

y

Ferrando

nd

Fiordiligi;

oth ave

been

profiled

throughout

he

pera

s

being

more

yrical

nd

more

motionally

nuanced

han

Guglielmo

nd

Dorabella. hese

ualities

re bun-

dantly

resent

n

their

espective

olos

receding

heduet: henear

tragic

athos

f

Fiordiligi's-major

ria,

Per

pieta"

no. 25),

is

matched

y

Ferrando's

ighly

harged

ria,

Tradito,

chernito"

no.

27);bothnumbersepresentdepartureromheprevailinguffa

characterf

he

urrounding

rias ndboth vince reservef

ntro-

spective

epth.

8

One

of he ft-noted

evels f

rony

n

this

pera

s

themore han

ikely

upposition

hat henew

ouples

rebetteruited

for

ach

other hanwere he

ld;

our

growing

warenessf his on-

traryompatibility

dds

special

ension

o

theduet.

Immediately

rior

o the

duet,

iordiligixpresses

he

rather

desperate

ntentiono

run

ff o the

battlefield,

long

with

orabella,

in theirovers'

military

niforms

Ferrando's

niformits

iordiligibetterhan

Guglielmo's,

swe would

xpect y

now).

n this

uise

or

at least

with

errando's

at

on),

Fiordiligi

ommenceshe

duet,

ing-

ing

esolutely

n A

major

fhow

he

will

rave

he

battlefield.he

shiftsnto more

ively

une

when he

magines

ow

her over's

eart

will

well

with

oy.

As her

phrase

adences

n E

major

t

m.

15,

Fer-

rando nters

melodramatically

n

E

minor,

aying

hat e

will

oondie

if

he eaves.

iordiligi

urns is

hort-lived

minor oward

major

with

hewords

Cosa

veggio,

on

tradita,"

nitiatedn a

surprise

naturaln m.21. Thisushersnanallegroonsistingf lternate

statements

f he wo

rotagonists.

errandouts

iordiligi's

irst

phrase

hort,

n which

hedemands

hat e

leave,

y

repeating

er

melodic ine and

continuing

n with

slowly

ising

hrase

hat

peaks

on

Al atm. 35. This

line

matches is

rising

motion

s

he draws is

sword nd asksher to do him nwith t

(somewhat

more

onvincingly

thanwhenthe women skedfor he samefavorn

no.

6).

Fiordiligi



11/23

86

TheMusical

uarterly

silences

im nd

begins

series

f

uicker

wo-measure

lternations,

eventuallyoalescingnto heparallelixths fmm. 1-57.

The melodic

eaks

f

both

ocal

parts,

n

the ection rom

m.

21-57,

tart o ndicate

he

progress

f

his attle.

iordiligi's

ove

from

2in m. 21 to G2

in m.

23

expresses

er

ndignation,

hich

is more

r ess

urther

ustained

y

her

F2 in m.

25,

when hecom-

mands

errandoo

eave.

He

appropriates

his

(down

n

octave

ut

supported

nstrumentally

n

her

egister)

nd

lowly

aises

t

to

hisAl

in

m. 35. Her

response,

Taci,"

fails

o match is

A and

lready

ints

ata note f urrender:ow, nsteadf eaving,errandohouldust

be

quiet.

9

Poor

iordiligi

an not ven

ustainhe

G2

of

m. 39

but,

in the

xchanges

hat

ollow,

ssumes

he

position

f

disadvantage,

such

hat he rests

f

hermelodic

ines

lways

all n thedominant

chord

nd re imited

o ts

eventh,,

while errando's

rests

each

theG

of he

underlying

onic hord.

n

mm.

3-54,

Fiordiligi

abors

even

o

get

o

that

,

approaching

t

by

tep

ather

han he

kips

f

mm.

0-50.

It is no

coincidence

hat

he

ings

f he

ncipient

acil-

lation

fher

idelity.Inm.57a new eries f xchangess nitiatedlongwith mod-

ulation

o

A

minor,

nd

the

emporary

riumph

fFerrando

s

put

into

uestion.

utnotfor

ong.

hisnew

dialogue

hows ven

more

pointedly

he

mpending

all f

Fiordiligi.

s Ferrando

atches

Fiordiligi's

of

m.

57

with

is

own n

m.

58,

she scends

o a G

in

m.

62,

asking

imwhat

t s he wants

rom

er.

His

response,

Your

heart

r

my

eath,"

arries

im

o

a sustained

igh

A

in

m.

64.

Fiordiligi's

of

m.

62,

as a

seventh

n the hord

six-five/iv,

resolveselatedlyo F inm.65,matchingerrando'sinthe ame

measure.

here

wasnever

ny

uestion

fher

inging

n

A. Mm.

65-69

present

he

orry

pectacle

f

Fiordiligi

unning

ack ndforth

fretfully

etween

2 and

G-sharpl,

imits

eapingly

rescribed

y

Fer-

rando's

ords

Cedi,

ara."

Musically

peaking,

he

s

quite

iterally

n

his

grips

y

now,

ndfar

e

it from

ere

oincidence

o

supply

he

dramatic

ndication,

t

ust

his

oint

n

the

ction,

hat nstructs

Ferrando

o take

herhand

nd

kiss t

n m.

70,

Fiordiligi

reaks

ut

ofhermoth-likentrapmentith hewordsDeiconsiglio"nd

resolution

fher

F's onto n

E. A seriesfone-measure

xchanges

follows,

n

which

iordiligi

urns errando's

ast

wonotes round-

first,

n

mm.

0-72,

he

invertsis

C-B to

B-C;

next,

n mm.

2-

75,

she

does

the sameto his

E-D-sharp.

Her

expressed

acillation

s

mirrored

y

her

nability

o

escape

from is

pitch

onstellationshile

not

acquiescing

ompletely

o their xact

configurations.

iordiligi's

high

A in m.

74

is

a last

pathetic

it of defiance.

his is

all

that



12/23

Mozart's

elix

ulpa

87

remainsf

he

A

she

might

ave ttained

arlier,

herehe

could

have ggressivelyatchedheA's ofFerrando.ow, n tspitiful

isolation,

er

high

A

is but he emblancef

defiance,

ronic

n

that

it arrives

nly

when t

s much oo ate.

Fiordiligi's

seof his

igh

A

is

ike

contrary-to-fact

ondition

xpressed

n

the

ubjunctive

ood:

"Were to

defy ou,

would

ing

his

A."

But he

eduction

s

still ot

omplete.

t

m.

76,

a

larghetto

n

A

major

ommences,

nnounced

y

he

ugmented-sixth

rrivaln V

in mm.

4-75.

Here,

errandoan

again ing

n

Mozart's

ey

f

ove,

ashedid n"Un' aura morosa,"nly owheappearso besinging

withinhe rotic

enumbra

f

arthly

overatherhan bout heoth-

erworldly

tmospherics

f

deal ove.20 is

melodic

ine,

fterts er-

pentine

ourse

n mm.

6-83,

continues ith series f

upward

swells,

irst

n

skips

f third

G-sharp-B,

-D),

then

n

diatonic

steps

D-E-F-sharp-G-sharp-A),

hen

hromatically

E-E-sharp-F-

sharp),

nd

finally

n

diatonic

teps A-B-C-sharp).

here s no

strong

adence

nywhere

n

these ixteen

measures,

s the adence

n

m.

79

falls

n the econd eat ndthe adence

n m.

91 is

retarded

melodically.

ftererrando's

legantly

ensuous

leas, trembling

Fiordiligi

an

only

epeat

he

phrase giusto

iel"

three

imes. hese

repetitions

re

melodicallyovernedy

Ferrando's

sposo"

nd

"amante"

hrases,

n

a

dialogue

ulverized

nto hort

mitative

hrases

one beat

part.

t

m. 93

Ferrandoorces

iordiligi

p

n

register

rom

E

to

F-sharp.

henhe

sings

is

G

natural

n m.

94, however,

he

finds

he

nergy

or n octave

eapup

to an

indignant

2,

on

the

word crudel."

fter er

precedingelpless

mitations,

hisA2

is like

a lastmemoryfher ormerill oremainefiant, ore reflexhan

a

spur

o

furtherction.

And, ndeed,

he

harmony

hanges

nder-

neath

er

the

floorlides utfrom nder

er),

s we

hear he ame

harmony

f

her ast

A2 in m.

74

(the

subjunctive"

).

Her

A

thus

changes

ts

meaning,

ndthe

futility

fher

gesture

s

given

musical

corroboration.

Afterhis limacticast

tand,

iordiligi

ases nto he

adence

at

m.

101,

first

hrough

lesser

eap

from

l

to

F-sharp

,

andthen

by stepwisescentoE2,from hichhedropsoAl, defeated.

The

fourmeasuresrom

7-100

harmonically

rolong

he

dominant

through

he

use

of

bewitching

iminishedeventh

hord

vii7/V)

and a

I

six-fourhord.At

the

harmonic

rrival n V

in

m.

97,

which

is reminiscentf the similar rrivaln m.

75,

the oboe commences

leisurely

elodic

rch,

raveling

rom

2

through

2

anddownto

Al

in m.

101. This line both

reminisces

n

Ferrando'swells f

mm.

86-89

and

recapitulates

hemelodic rchmade

by

the entire

ection



13/23

88

TheMusical

uarterly

fromiordiligi'sntrancen m.91 to the ndantetm.101. But t

alsounites he ast tterancesfboth errandond

Fiordiligi

from

mm.

7-101),

making

composite

ine f heir

ndividualities-as

f

Love's wnvoicewere

ffering

ommentn the weet

rogress

f

ts

charges.

It

will

be remembered

hat

he

arghetto

ashad

no

strong

cadence n

A

major.

his ventwas

vidently

eld

n

reserventil

the eduction as

omplete.

ndnot

only

oes he ast

ection,

mm.

91-101,

present

n extendedrive o the adence n

A

major,

ut

the ntireuet, romheC-majorectionn,can be felt opullgrad-

ually

oward

major

C

major

o

A

minoro

A

major).

he cadence

at

m.

101 s the

goal

of

three-stage

eduction

rocess

n

which

musi-

cal

prolongation

irrorshe

prolonged

ut utile efensef

Fiordiligi.

There s no

avoiding

he ventualadence

n

the

happily

atal

ey

f

A

major.

Reviewing

he

progress

f he ntire

uet,

we see thatMozart

chooses o

portray

n extendednd

psychologicallyomplicated

nter-

action.21

his snot heway o show s that uman atures a

mechanically

redictable

ffair,

moral

hat,

t first

lush,

eems

o

be central

o the

tory

f his

pera.

nstead,

ozart

resents

n

intensely

uman ramatic

ituation,

n

which

epth

f

haracter

s

pitted

gainst

strong

motional

orce,

amely

ove.Andwe are

ledonce

more o the

paradoxical

eartlandf

his

pera.

or

what

appears

o

be the

riumph

f ove

s but he

ulminatingtage

f n

extended

use;

oon he

new

ouples,

hose ove

history

asbeen

revealedousat such ength,

ill

goback o theirriginalairings.It wouldeem hat he

arge

uantity

fbeautiful usic

xpended

n

the

wrong

tory

s a diabolicalelebration

f hebasenessfhuman

nature

deceit

made

eautiful),

or o such

uantity

s

allotted

o the

real

tory

the

riginalairs

ndtheir

econciliation).

eauty

eems o

countenance

eceit, r,

more

trongly,

o

be the

very

ountenancef

deceit. he time-honoured

quation

f ruthnd

beauty

asbroad-

ened,

f

not

undered,tself,

nd

that f

beauty

nd llusion

s now

ascendant.

Ferrando:

Cessatedi

scherzar,

giuro

l cielo

. ."

Don

Alfonso:

Ed

io,

giuro

lla terra

. ."

Cosi

an

utte,.1

Hildesheimer

ontemplates

he ssue f

beauty

nd

illusionn

Cosi

fan

tutte ithin he framework

f a

boldly

peculative

nterpretation.

s

a

starting

oint

forhis

meditations,

ildesheimer

ddresses

he emo-



14/23

Mozart's

elix

ulpa

89

tionalmbiencefCosi nd enses pervasiveet overtmelan-

choly.22

e locates

he ource

f

this

melancholy

n

the

victory

f

rationalism

ver he

oncept

f deal

ove,

victory

mbodiedn

Don

Alfonso

nd

Despina.

he innocent

onception

f

deal

ove

s

replaced

y

more

own-to-earth,

ational

onception

fhuman

ove,

love

which s more he

fool

fFortunehan

he

hampion

f

Destiny.

The

loss

f his lder otion f ove

s,

sadly,

orever.

ildesheimer

agrees

ith tefan

unze,

whom

e

quotes, egarding

he

farewell

scene

fthe

first

ct:

"Mozart's usic

makes

t

. .

clear

hat

n

this

farewell,fwhich he erzettino10formshe pilogue,heprotago-

nists,

ithout

eing

ware f

t,

are

aking

eave f

omethingtterly

irretrievable."23

lsewhere

n his

remarks

n

Cosi,

Hildesheimer's

language

s

pervaded

ith

mages

f rreversible

oss,

f fall

rom

grace

nto

he Nicht-mehr-Heilen."

ccompanying

his all s

the

almost iabolical

eauty

fMozart's

usic,

iabolical

n

the

ense hat

it unites ove ndthe

mockery

f

Love,

beauty

nddeceit.

Hildeshei-

mer

ven haracterizesozarts

a diabolusxmachina

ho,

n

pre-

sentings with eceitntheguise fbeauty,bservesur eactions

from is ternal

antage

oint.24

ut

whatever

ozart's

ole,

ivine

yet

emonic

or

human nd

ronic),

he deaof he

fall rom

race

s

a

persuasive

nderlying

ause or

he

harmedirof

melancholy

beauty

hat his

pera

reathes.

The theme

xpressed

n

the

ubtitle,

he chool

or

overs,

orks

wellwith

he

opos

f hefall

rom

race

n

the

ense

hat he

overs

mustearn bout ove s a

reality

nd

not

s

a series f

deally

on-

ventionalized

esponses.verything

as

asy

n

Eden;

he

process

f

learning

o ive ntherealworld ntailsn often

ainful

ducation.

No little

rony

s

generated

y

he

fact hatwhile

Alfonso

resumes

o

educate he overs

n

termsfwhat ove

s

not,

hey

earn,

hrough

the ourse f heir

omedy,

ore

boutwhat ove

s. That s

to

say,

they

earn bout ovefirst

and;

he

puppets

f

hefirst

ct

begin

o

pull

heir wn

trings.

On

the

ubject

f

puppets,

would ike

o

ntroduceome

deas

from hat

may

eem n

incongruous

ource,

amely,

rom einrich

vonKleist'sssay,Ober asMarionettentheater."25his ssays one

of hemost

magical ieces

in

hewhole

fGerman

iterature,

etting

out s an innocuous

iscussionbout

uppets

nd

concluding

ith he

grand

osmic

ycle

of the fall

of

man and thereturn o

grace.

One of

the

protagonists

nKleist's

ssay

ellshis

friend,

henarratorf the

essay,

hatmarionettesance more

naturally

hanhuman

beings.

The

narrator,

n

indignant

efender

f

the human

ace,

can

not

bring



15/23

90

The

Musical

uarterly

himselfo believe uch noutrageousroposition.is friendxplains

that

he

puppeteer

eed

nly

uide

he

puppet's

enterf

gravity

the

puppet's

soul"),

nd

ts

imbs,

s

pure endulums,

ill

escribe

er-

fectlyraceful

urves. ot so with

hehuman

ancer,

ho s

much

too elf-conscious

ndoftenffectsrom

ithout

hat

omes

aturally

from ithin or he

puppet.

The friendshen rade

ales

llustratingrace

n

the

natural

world nd

the oss

f t

n

human

eings.

he

narrator

ells

f

boy

he

grew p

withwhowas

very raceful

ntil e

suddenly

ecame

aware fhimself,y hancingoobservene ofhisgracefulestures

in

a

mirror.

e

tried

epeatedly

o

mitate

he ame

esture,

ith

o

success.

e

hadfallen rom

race ight

efore

isfriend's

yes.

he

other

rotagonist

hen elates

story

bout

fighting

ear,

who

ould

defeat

hebest uman encers

n

the

rea

because e

parried

ll their

thrustsnd

never

wasfooled

y

heir eints. he bear

would

ot ven

react nless he hrust as

genuine.

o much or uman

ffectation.

The two riends

gree

hat atural

race

s confounded

y

reflection,

that istinctlyumanrait,ndthat he nly rue racestobefound

in

beings xisting

n

the tate fno

knowledge

the

puppet)

rtotal

knowledge

God).

Man's

estiny

ill

e to

attain

omeday

o

total

knowledge

nd

thereby

omplete

he

piral

eading

ack o

grace.

he

power

f

reflections a mixed

lessing,

hen,

hat

irectly

auses fall

from

race

utwithout hich

here

an

be no

passage

o the

higher

planes

f

xistence.his

s

why

he dvent f

human

onsciousness,

brought

n

by

transgression,ay

e seen s

a "felix

culpa.'"26

Analogically,

he haracters

f

Cosi

an

be

seen s

puppets

n

a

state f nnocence.his nnocencesembodiedntheiracit

ssump-

tion

f deal

ove,

heir rust

n

the deaof ove s

predestined

nd

eternal.

hey

eact

ccording

o the onventionalizedotions

ur-

rounding

uch

conception

f

ove,

ikehonor nd

fidelity.27

ut

when

hey

xamine

heir otion f ove oo

closely, y

ctually

ut-

ting

t to

the

est,

hey

ufferfall romheir

eightless,

uppet-like

state nto

he

weightedravity

fhuman onsciousness.

heirs

as

child's

den

nd,

ike

hildren,

hey

were

nly

oo

happy

o et

other

agencies ull he tringsorhem. he men's ransgressionf his

state f

nnocence,

ncompassed

n

the

hameless

eception

f

heir

loverst

the

behest frationalism

in

the

figure

f

Don

Alfonso),

ot

only

rings

bout

he

unpleasant

ealization

hat heir ormer

otions

are

gone

forever,

ut also

opensup

for

hem he

potential

fa more

genuinely

uman ove.28

histransformationrom

n

ideal

yet

unreal-

istic tate o

a

real,

unideal tate

s

attended

y

an

ironic

melancholy,



16/23

Mozart's

elix

ulpa

91

notunlike he entimente detect ehind lexanderope's harac-

terization

fMan as the

glory,

est

ndriddle ftheworld."

A

similarort freaction

o

Cosi

s

expressedy

he

neo-Kantian

philosopher

ermann ohen

n

his

book

Die

dramatischedee

n

Mozarts

perntexten

Berlin,

915).

Cohen,

n

developing

theory

f

therole f

Love

n

Mozart's

peras,

s

perplexed

y

Mozart's

eeming

mockery

f

ove

n

Cosi.

t will

not

do,

Cohen

rgues,

o

explain

uch

mockery

y

ppealing

o Rococo omic

astes,

orMozart's

uppets

re

but

he

housings

f mmortal

tatues."29ohen

ndulges

n

a short

digressiononcerninglato'skepticalejection,nPhaedrus,fthe

wisdom

fbooks nd

Shakespeare's

keptical

usings

n the

fficacy

of

fantasy,

etected

y

Cohen

n

the

manner

n

which

hakespeare

sets onventional

ramaticrt n

its

head

n

A

Midsummer

ight's

Dream.

e seesboth lato nd

Shakespeare

s

being

eized

y

"sou-

verane

kepsis"

n

regard

o

their

everaldealisms: ith

lato,

t s

the dealism

f

hought,

ith

hakespeare,

he dealismf

fantasy.

The ethical

tility

fboth he

printed

ork

thought

in

captivity")

andthe rtworkasdeceitfuleauty)sput nto uestion.hese wo

great

men hus

hallenge

heir

dealistic

pirits,

heir aith

n

the

very

endeavors

hey

ivefor.And

why

hould ot

Mozart,

ohen

sks,

all

equally rey

o

such

kepticism?

ohen

ees his

scendancy

f

kepti-

cism s

a

necessarytage

n

thematurationf ne's

dealism,

hich

would therwise

o

unproved,

ever

aving

een

hallenged

nd uc-

cessfully

efended.

ozartould

nly

efeathis

kepticism

ith is

"ever

outhful"

rt.

n

Cosi,

consoling

aith

n

Love

urvives

through

ll theunchaste

ockery

fLove.

This

faith

an be felt

y

anyone

istening

o the

pera.

Mozarthus

mploys

ishumors a

correctivend ubdues

is

kepticism

y howing

hat es

stdoch

vielmehr

chein,

ass lle Liebe

nur

chein

ware."30

nd

f

Cost

provides

schooling

or

Mozart's

dealism,

t s no

less "School

or

Lovers"

n

the

ense hat he haractersf he

pera

earn ne

of

love's

reatest

essons:

hey

earn o

pardon

uman eakness

n

the

beloved.31

hey

ttain

o a

more ealistic

nderstanding

f

love--

butnotbefore

xperiencingdisturbing

pheaval

ftheir

revious

beliefs.32

Cohen's iew

s

related

o

the

deas fHildesheimer

ndKleist

in

that

e, too,

reats

he

pera

s a

passage

rom

aith o

doubt,

fall

from

deal

grace

o the

struggle

f

reality.

ohen locates his

passage

in Mozart

imself,

s a

necessarytage

n the

growth

fhis

idealism,

tempering,

nd therefore

trengthening,tage.

Hildesheimerees the

passage

rom aith o doubt

n

thecharacters' otion

f deal

ove,

a



17/23

92 TheMusical

uarterly

transitionhat

teeps

he

pera

n

the

melancholy

erception

f lost

paradise. leist'sssay,houghot pecificallyelatingoCosi,deals

with

he

passage

rom

atural

race

o

human

onsciousness,

gain

with

melancholyeeling

f oss.

In

invoking

he

mythic

eaches

f

human

onsciousness,

hese

ead-

ings

f

the

pera

redit

he

music ith

nearthly

ower:

amely,

he

ability

o

grant umanity

o

puppets.

he

schooling

hat

would each

these

tar-struckarionettes

o feel he

gravity

f

human

eality

s

outlinednthe ibretto,ut t sthenature f hemusichat eads

Hildesheimerrom on Alfonso's

chool freason o the

notion f

fall rom

race

ndthat onvincesohen fthe

pera's

ltimateaith

in

the

power

f ove.33 oth

ritics ear

puppet light

ecome

human

light.

o a certain

egree,

a Ponte's

tory

acilitateshis

transformation

n

the

way

t

presents

he overs.

hey

re

portrayed

initially

s

equal-partnerairs,

s

representatives

f heir ex

rather

than

s

specific

uman

eings;

ery

ittle

ndividuality

s

hinted t

until he rias

midway

n

thefirstct.

But

n the

cenes

we

have

examined, ozart's usic oes eyondhepaintingf ndividualhar-

acteristicsnd

begins

o assume

he

point

fview fthese

uppets,

with he

result

hat

he

llusionhat

efineshem s

puppets

ecomes

a

truthhat

efines

hem s

humans. his onstitutes

schooling

n

themost

rofound

ense: he

oversearn elf-consciousnessnd

begin

to

ive ndbreathe ithinhe ronic

melancholy

ttendant

pon

uch

knowledge.

Thus,

he ibrettournishesozart ith

he

pportunity

o

achievenall-embracingronyvenmore undamentalhan ts ver-

arching

ramatic

rony: y

providing

or n illusionhat hemusic

ill

then ransform

nto

ruth,

he ibretto

ives

Mozart's

usic

pace

enough

o simulate

he

rony

f

human onsciousness.

his

imulation

can be heard

n

the

degree

o

which hemusic eems oth o

identify

with

nd

to mock he haractersn the

tage

to

believe

heir

ruths

andto

expose

hese ruthss

illusions).

he

irony

n

Cosi

s thus f

the

ype

escribed

y

Rosen,

n

irony

fdistance ithout

isdain,

involvementithoutredulity.ozart's usicingersetweenruth

and

llusion,

oth s

participant

ndobserver.

This

type

f

onsciousness

s

n

tself

critique

f he

Enlighten-

ment iew fhuman

atures

espoused

y

Don

Alfonso,

or ow

he

realms f truth ndillusion reno

longer eparable.

No

longer

s

humannature

predictable

ffair,

ubject

o

proof

nd

wager.

he

Enlightenment

iewofhumannaturemakes uch

wagers lausible

because t

is

predicated

n

the

fixity

f reason nd

causality

n human



18/23

Mozart's

elix

ulpa

93

affairs.

he

men etDon Alfonsoet he erms

f

he

wager

s

a

dem-

onstrationy xperiment.hisdoesnot onstituteproblemor

them,

orwithinheir

orldview

he

underlying

ssumption

f he

predictability

fhuman ature

nd ts

ubsequent

iability

or

xperi-

mental bservation

s not

n

question.

nstead,

he

dispute

inges

n

a

black ndwhite

pposition:

hemen

wager

n the

predictability

f

thenature f deal

ove;

Alfonso

agers

n the

predictability

f he

nature

freal ove.

n

both

ases,

hemen

roject

heir

oncepts

f

loveonto he

women;

henature f

ovebecomes

he

nature f

woman.n ideal erms, omenrepredictablyaithful,hilen

Alfonso's

ealworld

hey

re

predictably

ickle. ut

n

theworld

os-

ited

y

Mozart's

usic,

ll is both eal nd

deal,

nothing

s

predict-

able,

nd

the imultaneous

egotiation

f deal ndreal s

ironic.

Music

willno

longer

e assimilatednto he

Enlightenment's

primarily

erbal

orld,

ndthedemonstrationf his

ncommensura-

bility

n

Cosi

an

utteomes t

precisely

he imewhen

music tarted

to

be heard

o

assert

tselfs a nonverbal

ounterlanguage,

locus or

both uman

motion

nd

transcendentntimation.

s

an

authorita-

tive oice oruchnonrationaltates semotionalnd rotic ttrac-

tion,

music

rovides

hebreathfreal

human

nvolvement,

et

ts

ability

o do

so

in

Cosi

s

surely

ut

nto elief

y

he

nature f he

librettond

ts

tory.

he

music ould

never

chieve ts

harmed

effectf

dding humanizing

hird

imension

f

he

tory

idnot

establish

two-dimensional

andscape

f

oppositions;

ozart's usic

finds

soulfor he soullesserms"fDa Ponte's

ibretto.34

Although

usic

nd ibretto

rguably

erve

ifferent

orldviews,

theironjunctionrojects uniquemomentn ntellectualndaes-

thetic

istory,

moment

hen

nlightenment

nd

post-Enlighten-

ment

ensibilitiesre

givenmutually

etermining,

nd

mutually

limiting,

rofiles.

o

pursue

his

oint,

onsider

he nteractionf

Mozart's

usic ith he

moral

ropounded

t the

ndof he ibretto.

Presented

s

the umma fDon Alfonso's

hilosophy,

hemoral

tates

that

happy

s the

manwho

akes ll

things

romheir

ood

ides

and

who etshimselfe

guided y

reason

uring

ife's

etbacks.hat

whichmakes thersrywill ea cause f aughteror im, nd n

the

middle

f his

world's hirlwind

e

will

ind

beautiful

erenity."

Reason

s seen

s

the

power

hat nables s to rise

bove he

grim

aspects

f

human

xistence--if

he

puppets

f

Cosi

have fallen rom

their tate

f conventionalized

nnocence

hrough

he

application

f

reason,

tnow behooves hem o

apply

his ame

reason

n

order o

adjust

hemselveso their

resent

tate,

o

acquiesce

o

the

nevitable.

But the musichasbeen

telling

s

throughout

hat here s

no

simple



19/23

94

The

Musical

uarterly

standpointpart romur ituatednessnhumanonsciousness,o

standpoint

rom

hich

ne

could

xperience

ntroubled

erenity

nd

simply

augh

t

the

pain

f

others.

f

the

puppets

f hefirst

cthave

truly

chieved

ost-Enlightenment

onsciousness,

he

tate

uggested

by

Alfonso's otto

ill

e rendered

naccessibleo

them

however

vociferouslyhey

will

mouthts

platitude

n

the omic

inale).

What

remainsfter

he

urtainalls

s

not he

motto nd ts

generic

omic

resolution,

ut he

mysterious

nd

disturbing

fterimage

f he

music,

disturbingrecisely

ecauset reacts ith

libretto hose

opestoneis soclearlyhe

product

f n

Enlightenment

uarry.

his

uxtaposi-

tion f

Enlightenment

nd

post-Enlightenment

onsciousnesss the

irreducibleatrixf

Cosi

an

utte.

f

Mozart's usic idnot

dentify

so

deeply

ith

he

haracters'

eelings,

he

whole

hing

ould

ave

remainedn exercise

n

parody

nd

atire

ather

han

symbol

f

the

mystery

f

being

uman. nd

f

Da

Ponte'sibrettoidnot

provide

setting

hat

oregrounds

his

ery

spect

fMozart's

usic,

hemusic's

beauty

ould ot eem o

strangely

onderful,

o

superabundantly

ironic.

Ironic

eauty

s

the

pparition

hat aunts his

pera;

s the

ghost

n

Da Ponte's

machine,

t

s a diffuse

resence,

ften

recipitating

tself

where

east

xpected.

ot

only

s t

perceptible

n

thenumbers

is-

cussed

bove,

ut

t

also urks

n

the

wind

writing

f he

erenade

o.

21,

theviolas f

no.

5,

the

ncongruously

eautifularmonies

n

E

majormarking

he

omic ddressf he

notary

n

the

econd-act

finale,nd nthe anonnA-flat, hich recedeshat cene, ot omentionhat anon's

ventual

through

he

ooking

lass"

modulation

to

E

major.35

etthe

ronic

melancholy

nfiltrating

his

pera

s

not

matterf

pparitional

ncongruity,

f

he

opsy-turvyoings

f ome

incorrigible

oltergeist;

ather,

t hasto

do

with he llusive

ature

f

beauty,

s adumbrated

y

he

ingular

dmixturef

Mozart's

usic nd

Da Ponte's

tory.

he

melancholy

ssociated

ith hefall rom

race

into onsciousnessinds

natural

ssociation

n

beauty-beauty

ow

becomes

hevisible

ndex f

grace: ugitive,ransitory,

ut

glimpse

of paradiseowdiscerneds anillusoryealm orevereyondhe

pale

ofmundane

eality

et

omehow

till rue.

As

Shakespeare's

ouchstone

sserts,

The

truest

oetry

s the

most

eigning."

hroughout

hemusic

f

Cosi,

we

have een hat his

is

Mozart's

ouchstones well.Andthe ronic

onjunction

f ruth

and

illusionsnota

property

fart

lone,

but

represents

donnie f

human

onsciousness. s

the

birth f such

uncertainty

etween

ruth



20/23

Mozart's

elix

ulpa

95

and llusion,onsciousnessacks he ransparentindowf heworld

with

lack,

o that

we

may

ee ourselves

ithin.

nd,

s

always

ith

mirrors,

here

s the

danger

f

mixing

he rue

bject

with ts

llusory

image.

he

fighting

ear

fKleist's

arable

asnot o

encumbered;

feint rom

ts

pponent

as

mmediately

ecognized

s a

superfluous

gesture,

ne

requiring

o

parrying

esponse.

et,

Kleist's

ear

will

never nderstand

eauty

f t

cannot

eact o a

feint;

he

pperception

of

beauty

ncludes

he

melancholynowledge

f ts

llusory,ransitory

nature.

This swhy osifan utte asalwaysaunteds,whyt workst

a

profound

evel

without

hebrilliant

ntrigues

nddenouements

f

Figaro

r

the eductive

ower

f Don

Giovanni.he

melancholy

beauty

f ts

music isturbs

hile t

pleases,

inds o referentialoor-

ing

n

a

compelling

ramatic

ituationr

n

thereaffirmationf n

ethical

tatus

uo,

but atherecomes

diffuse

ise n scene or ll

operatic

epresentation

nd

for ll

art,

or

ny

ndeavor

hat

would

find

ruth

n

llusion.

y

hus

utting

he

negotiation

f llusiontself

onstage, osAlays ut hedivineomedynherentnallgreatrt

that eeks

o

explore

he

plight

fhuman

onsciousness.

Finally,

would

ike o

suggest

hat

he ronic

eauty

f

he

music

f

Cosi

touches

n

thedistinctive

haracterfmuch

fMozart's

later

music.

f

t

s Beethoven's

rivilege

o be heard

o show ow hat

which

s

ndividually

uman

may

ecome

ne with he

ranscendently

heroic,

t

s Mozart's

o isten or

he deal romhe

tandpoint

f he

real

to

play

Kant

o

Beethoven's

egel),

o hear oth hemusic f

resignationndthat frevelationndto

discoverhat

hey

re

he

same.This ronicdentificationf

resignation

o thereal ndrevela-

tion

f

he deal

s the

magic

antern

fMozart's

usic,

he

flickering

source

f ts

eductive

eauty.

t is a

conjunction

hat ould

erhaps

only

ind

home t

the rossroads

f he

Enlightenment

nd

the

ge

of

Romanticism.

Generations

f ritics

ave reated

ozart'sastDa Ponte

pera

as a

transgression,

fall rom

he

heights

stablished

y

Le

Nozze

i

Figaro

ndDon

Giovanni.

et,

am

tempted

o

echo

Augustine'sry

offaith:O felixulpa "-andnot east ecause amhere ncouraged

to believe

n

an

illusionf

my

wn,

hat

n

this

pera,

s

in

no

other,

I find

myself

ace o face

withMozart. or

he

music fCosi

an

utte

is the sadironic

mile f one who has

lostthe

garden

f Eden but

learns he

garden

f beautiful

pparition,

newho both

participates

and

observes,

elieves nd

doubts,

ympathizes

nd

mocks. t

is,

I like

to

think,

Mozart's

mile.



21/23

96 TheMusical

uarterly

Notes

I

wish o thank homas

Y. Levinforhis

advice nd

encouragement,

rian

Mohrfor

his

generous

nd

indispensable

ssistance,

nd Michael

P.

Steinberg,

hose

ogent

criticism ad

a

revitalizing

ffectn this

ssay.

1.

Criticism f

this

pera

has often

mphasized

he almost

verweening

oleof the

music.

Hermann

Abert,

n

his classic

tudy

f

Mozart,

otesMozart's Freude m

sinnlich

Sch6nen

n

Melodik nd nstrumentation"s a

singular

haracteristicf

the

entire

pera

W.

A.

Mozart,

ol.

2

[Leipzig:reitkopf

nd

Hirtel,

921], 58).

Anna

Amalie bert ees

n

Cosi

Remusikalisierung

or

Mozart,

returno more

trictly

musicaloncerns.

Die

Opern

ozarts

Wolfenbattel

nd

Ziirich,

970],

9).

Irving

Kolodinven peaksf hemusics the eventhharacterf he perandfindsn

important

lue

o this evelation

n

the rio umber

,

"Unabella

erenata,"

hich

he sees s emblematicf he ntire

pera.

He

goes

n to relate

osi

o Mozart'sere-

nade

utput,

s he relates onGiovanniohis ate

ymphonies,igaro

o his

piano

concertind

Die

Zauberfldte

o his

religious

usic. ee

Irving

olodin,

TheSeventh

Character

fCost an

utte,"

osi

an

utte

RCA

recording

LSC-6146,

968).

See

alsonote

1

for

eter

ivy's

iew f he

musicality

f

Cosi.

2.

Examples

f hese evisionsrediscussedn Klaus

Hortschansky,

Gegen

Unwahrscheinlichkeitnd rivolitat:

ie

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Documents

Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty