Worksheet to accompany viewing of Charles Hazelwood's The Genius of Mozart

Part 1 of 3- Miracle of Nature http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc4XdUu-G5Q

Part 2 of 3- A Passion for the Stagehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3G6b1FV_t0

Part 3 of 3- The First Romantichttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8FQH_Sr4J4

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Part 1 of 1

What were the names of Mozart's parents and sister?Father Leopold Mozart, Mother Anna Maria, Elder sister Maria Anna Mozart (Nannerl).

In the year 1763, Herr Mozart took his family and left Salzburg, in search of greater recognition and exposure for the talents of his 2 children.

“Mozart was a creative spirit of God, symbol of a new egalitarian age. He was proof of enlightened beliefs, that talent could be given to all, not just elites.”

Heeding his father's advice, Mozart left his first love, Aloysia Weber ( a soprano), and travelled to Paris, accompanied by his mother to look after him.Following the death of Mozart's mother in 1778, Mozart composed Piano Sonata in A minor--- a work whose dark and stark qualities were a reflection of the first grievance that Mozart experienced.

From his return to Salzburg in 1779, both Wolfgang and Leopold worked for the Archbishop Prince Colloredo of Salzburg. On a trip accompanying the Archbishop to Vienna in 1781, Mozart had a major fall out with the Archbishop, much to the fury and great disappointment of his father. His resignation from his post meant that he lost his only paid employment.

Mozart's marriage to Constanze Weber (also a singer) was at the expense of the greatest outrage and disapproval from his father. Leopold was convinced that both her social class and musical talents were a mismatch to Mozart's. The familial rift between Mozart and his father, brought both father and son much pain. The suffering and guilt experienced my Mozart was reflected in the intensity of emotions poured out in his piano works.

Having not seen his son for almost 2 years, Leopold decided to surprise his son with a visit, attending the first performance of his Piano Concerto in D minor, a work that was greatly anticipated by Emperor Joseph II. Mozart's piano concerto was to be played on the fortepiano recently redesigned by him---an instrument whose potency was harnessed in full dialogue and debate with the orchestra, hence creating the modern day piano concerto.

(Note: Look out for the period instruments! Eg: 2 period oboes, 1 traverse flute, the period timpanis, and arched string bows)

Part 2 of 3

Progressing from the first decade of Mozart's life as the traveling child prodigy, he evolved to be the adult thinker, passionately attached to the aggressive values of the enlightenment. A composer at the height of his formidable powers, determined to succeed in the most difficult and lucrative genre of all, opera.

“Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, written at the end of his life, stand as the ultimate of Mozart's ambition to communicate the complexities of human life and the depth of human emotion through music and theatre.”

On his visit to Salzburg, Herr Emanuel Schikanener, an actor/ director/ impresario, first got acquainted with Mozart and his family. Their friendship only developed at a later stage, as Mozart had to leave abruptly for Munich. He was to receive an opera commission from the Elector of Bavaria, to write Bastien und Bastienne. This opera tells the story of a hero's return from the Trojan wars, a typical mythological subject for the formal and stylized opera seria (serious opera).

Vienna was the busy and vivid city that was the political, cultural and economic capital of the Austrian empire, where Mozart decided to settle down in the last decade of his life. With its vast knowledgeable audiences and five thriving theaters, the city nurtured his sense of drama, and so enabled him to form the operatic convention of his day.

Mozart's new home in Vienna was the patronage of the early Roman emperor, Joseph II of Austria, who was passionate for music and with a keen agenda for social reform.

What were some of the laws passed down by Joseph II?1)The pratice of tough to extract confunction abolished.2)The death penalty to be replaced by the sentence of lifelong heart labour.3)The royal hunting ground be open to the Viennese public as a park for the recreation and pleasure.

In an age before television and cinema, theatre was more then just entertainment. It was a forum for up to date thinking and ideas, moral and comment.

“While the aristocracy was flocking to the rarified, witty world of Italian opera, a new german audience was eagerly awaiting their own opera, their own popular culture.

Through the german language Singspiel, Joseph II aimed to encourage a more patriotic public.”

Lorenzo Da Ponte (Italian poet), was to collaborate with Mozart as librettist for the following operas:

1)The Marriage of Figaro2)Don Giovanni3)Così fan tutte

In Beaumarchais's The Marriage of Figaro (also known as Le nozze di Figaro, in Italian), was the culmination of Mozart's social and political beliefs, also honing the great enlightened message: “That one man is as good as another man, regardless of birth”

What was the name of the diva who sang the role of Queen of the Night in Mozart's opera, The Magic Flute?Josepha Weber

Part 3 of 3

Which piece did Mozart write, with the aim of reconciling with his father, following the rift resulting from his marriage to Constanze?Great Mass in C minor

Which works were born from the period of blazing creativity in Mozart's life, in the year of 1788 (which also was the year of the death of his baby daughter)?1)Symphony No 40 in G minor2)Symphony No 39 in Eb major3)Symphony No 41 in C majorr

Mozart's Clarinet Quintet was written for his friend, the clarinetist Anton Stadler.

Mozart died in 1791, at the age of 35, leaving the work Requiem (that was commissioned by an anonymous patron) unfinished.