' () (
K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a
singspiel
A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk- ...
in three acts by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
. The German
libretto
A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
is by
Gottlieb Stephanie, based on
Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's . The plot concerns the attempt of the hero Belmonte, assisted by his servant Pedrillo, to rescue his beloved Constanze from the
seraglio of
Pasha
Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...
Selim. The work premiered on 16 July 1782 at the Vienna
Burgtheater, with the composer conducting.
Origins
The opera loosely refers to the practice of the North African
Barbary corsairs
The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...
, who operated primarily in the western Mediterranean, of hijacking ships belonging to Christian states. Under the pretext of
jihad
''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...
, the ship and cargo were sold or returned only after a
ransom
Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom.
When ransom means "payment", the word ...
was paid. The actual goal, however, was the
kidnapping
Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...
of crew and passengers, to extort ransom money or to sell them into
slavery
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
. It was also common to force affected seafaring nations of non-Muslim faith to pay
protection money or
tribute
A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...
. The corsairs acted on behalf of or with the acquiescence of the local Muslim rulers in
Algiers
Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
,
Tunis
Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
and
Tripoli. This type of state-backed piracy finally ended after the
French conquest of Algiers (1830).
The company that first sponsored the opera was the ("national
Singspiel
A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk- ...
"), a pet project (1778–1783) of the Austrian emperor
Joseph II. The Emperor had set up the company to perform works in the German language (as opposed to the
Italian opera
Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ope ...
style widely popular in Vienna). This project was ultimately given up as a failure, but along the way it produced a number of successes, mostly a series of translated works. Mozart's opera emerged as its outstanding original success.
The inspector of the was
Gottlieb Stephanie.
When the 25-year-old Mozart arrived in Vienna in 1781, seeking professional opportunity, one of the first tasks to which he addressed himself was to become acquainted with Stephanie and lobby him for an opera commission. To this end, he brought a copy of his earlier unfinished opera ''
Zaide'' and showed it to Stephanie, who was duly impressed. Mozart also made a strong impression on the manager of the theater, Count
Franz Xaver Orsini-Rosenberg, when in the home of Mozart's friend and patroness
Maria Wilhelmine Thun the Count heard him play excerpts from his opera ''
Idomeneo'', premiered with great success the previous year in
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
.
With this backing, it was agreed that Stephanie would find appropriate material and prepare a libretto for Mozart. Stephanie complied by preparing an altered version of an earlier work without attributing or seeking permission from its original author
Christoph Friedrich Bretzner. Bretzner later complained loudly and publicly about the theft.
Composition
Mozart received the libretto from Stephanie on 29 July 1781. He had few opportunities to compose professionally during the summer and he set to work on the libretto at a very rapid pace, finishing three major numbers in just two days. A letter to his father
Leopold indicates he was excited about the prospect of having his opera performed in Vienna and worked enthusiastically on his project.
At first Mozart thought he needed to finish his opera in only two months, because tentative plans were made to perform it at the September visit of the Russian
Grand Duke Paul (son of
Catherine the Great
Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
and heir to the Russian throne). However, it was ultimately decided to perform operas by
Gluck instead, giving Mozart more time.

It was around this time that Mozart articulated his views about the role of the composer and the librettist in the preparation of an opera. He wrote to his father (13 October 1781):
It would seem that something along these lines did happen—that is, Mozart decided to play a major role in the shaping of the libretto, insisting that Stephanie make changes for dramatic and musical effect. On 26 September Mozart wrote:
Mozart was evidently quite pleased to have in Stephanie a librettist who would listen to him. The September 26 letter also says:
With the delays for rewriting, the composition took several more months. The premiere took place on 16 July
1782, at the
Burgtheater in Vienna.
Character
is in the genre of "Singspiel", thus the music lacks
recitative
Recitative (, also known by its Italian name recitativo () is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat lines ...
s and consists entirely of set numbers. As
Spike Hughes notes, the action is mostly carried forward by the spoken dialogue, so the libretto gave Mozart little opportunity to display an achievement for which his later operas are celebrated, namely the construction of scenes in which the plot is both reflected in and driven forward by the music.
is lighthearted and frequently comic, with little of the deep character exploration or darker feelings found in Mozart's later operas. The opera was inspired by
a contemporary interest in the exotic culture of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, a nation which had only recently ceased to be a military threat to Austria. Mozart's opera includes a
Westernized version of Turkish music, based very loosely on the Turkish
Janissary band music.
Certain aspects of the opera conform to an eighteenth-century European view of
orientalism
In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...
. The Pasha's titular harem, for example, reprised themes of sexual libertinage. And the comically sinister overseer, Osmin, is a send-up of earlier stereotypes of Turkish despotism. However, the opera also defies the stereotype of despotic Turkish culture, since its climax entails a selfless act of forgiveness on the part of the Pasha.
The music includes some of the composer's most spectacular and difficult arias. Osmin's act 3 aria "" includes characteristic 18th century
coloratura passage work, and twice goes down to a low
D (
D2), one of the lowest notes demanded of any voice in opera. Perhaps the most famous aria in the opera is the long and elaborate "" ("Tortures of all kinds") for Konstanze, an outstanding challenge for sopranos. Konstanze sings in a kind of
sinfonia concertante with four solo players from the orchestra; the strikingly long orchestral introduction, without stage action, also poses problems for stage directors.
The virtuosity of these roles is perhaps attributable to the fact that when he took up the task of composing the opera, Mozart already knew the outstanding reputations of the singers for whom he was writing, and he tailored the arias to their strengths.
The first Osmin was
Ludwig Fischer, a bass noted for his wide range and skill in leaping over large intervals with ease. Similarly, Mozart wrote of the first Konstanze,
Caterina Cavalieri, "I have sacrificed Konstanze's aria a little to the flexible throat of Mlle. Cavalieri."
Reception

The opera was a huge success. The first two performances brought in the large sum of 1200 florins. The work was repeatedly performed in Vienna during Mozart's lifetime, and throughout German-speaking Europe. In 1787,
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
wrote (concerning his own efforts as a librettist):
Although the opera greatly raised Mozart's standing with the public as a composer, it did not make him rich: he was paid a flat fee of 100 Imperial
ducat
The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...
s (about 450
florins) for his work, and made no profits from the many subsequent performances.
The opera reached Paris in November 1801, when
Frédéric Blasius conducted Ellmenreich's company in performances at the .
The American premiere in English was given by the
Rochester Opera Company on November 1, 1926 under the direction of
Vladimir Rosing. A second production with a new English libretto by
Robert A. Simon was debuted by the
American Opera Company at the
Gallo Opera House in New York on January 31, 1928. and was then performed on tour in Boston and Chicago.
"Too many notes"
The complexity of Mozart's work noted by Goethe also plays a role in a well-known tale about the opera which appeared in the early (1798) biography of Mozart by
Franz Xaver Niemetschek. In the version of the anecdote printed in ''
Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes'', a reference work, the story is told like this:
The authenticity of this story is not accepted by all scholars. Moreover, the version given by the Bartlett reference (and many other places) includes a translation of the original German that is dubious. The original reads: ""
"Too many notes" is not a plausible translation of the German phrase "". Mautner, translating Niemetschek, renders this as "an extraordinary number of notes", while
Branscombe translates it simply as "very many notes". William Stafford translates the phrase as "Too beautiful for our ears, and an enormous number of notes, dear Mozart!" The anecdote, which is often repeated, is considered by some scholars to unfairly give the Emperor a bad reputation concerning both his musical abilities and his appreciation and support of Mozart.
Roles
Instrumentation
The singers perform with a
Classical-era orchestra: pairs of
flute
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
s,
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites.
The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
s,
clarinet
The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell.
Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
s,
bassoon
The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...
s,
horns,
trumpets, a set of two
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
, and
strings. They are augmented with the instruments needed for
"Turkish" music: tamburo grande (tamburo turco),
cymbal
A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...
s,
triangles
A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimensiona ...
, and
piccolo
The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...
. The aria "" is augmented by two
basset horns.
The orchestra for the premiere included a number of eminent musicians of the day: first cellist
Joseph Franz Weigl, first oboist
Josef Triebensee, second oboist second horn
Joseph Leutgeb, and the clarinettist brothers
Anton and
Johann Stadler. In the first violin section was
Franz de Paula Hofer, who later became Mozart's brother-in-law. The four musicians who played the "Turkish" instruments remain anonymous, though it is known that they were recruited for this purpose by one Franz Tyron,
Kapellmeister
( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...
of the Austrian Second Field Artillery Regiment.
Synopsis
:Place: the country house of the Pasha (German "Bassa"), in Turkey
:Time: 16th century
Act 1
After a lively overture Belmonte enters, looking for his betrothed, Konstanze, who, with her English servant, Blonde, has fallen into the hands of pirates and been sold to
Pasha
Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...
Selim (Aria: "" – "Here surely I must find her"). Osmin, the Pasha's bad-tempered servant, comes to pluck
figs in the garden and contemptuously ignores Belmonte's questions (Aria: "" – "You may think, you've found a maiden"). Belmonte tries to obtain news of his servant, Pedrillo, who has been captured with the women and is serving as a servant in the Pasha's palace. Osmin replies with insults and abuse (Duet: "" – "The devil take you and your song, sir"). Belmonte leaves in disgust. Pedrillo enters and Osmin rages at him, vowing to get him tortured and killed in many different ways (Aria: "" – "These young men who go a-spying"). Osmin leaves and Belmonte enters and happily reunites with Pedrillo. Together, they resolve to rescue Konstanze and Blonde, who is Pedrillo's fiancée (Aria: "" – "Konstanze, Konstanze, to see thee again … Oh what trembling").
Accompanied by a chorus of
Janissaries
A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted du ...
("" – "Sing to the mighty Pasha Selim"), Pasha Selim appears with Konstanze, for whose love he strives in vain (Aria of Konstanze: "" – "How I loved him"). Pedrillo tricks the Pasha into hiring Belmonte as an architect. When Belmonte and Pedrillo try to enter the palace, Osmin bars their way, but they hurry past him anyway (Terzett: "" – "March! March! March! Clear off!").
Act 2
The Pasha has given Blonde to Osmin, to be his slave; however, she defiantly rebuffs her new master's rough lovemaking attempts (Aria: "" – "With smiles and kind caresses"), threatens to scratch out his eyes, and chases him out of the room (Duet: "" – "I'm going, but mark what I say"). Konstanze enters in distress (Aria: "" – "Oh what sorrow overwhelms my spirit … Endless grief tortures my spirit"). The Pasha enters, demands Konstanze's love, and threatens to use force, but she resolutely rejects him (Aria: "" – "Tortures unrelenting"). Left alone, he muses on her determination to remain chaste, which increases his desire for her.
Pedrillo informs Blonde that Belmonte has come and is planning to rescue them, filling Blonde with joy (Aria: "" – "Oh, the happy, happy day"). After singing a short ditty to boost his courage (Aria: "" – "Now Pedrillo, now for battle!"), Pedrillo invites Osmin to drink (Duet: "" – "Here's to Bacchus, long live Bacchus"). Despite his
religious prohibition against alcoholic beverages, Osmin drinks heavily and falls asleep. Konstanze joins Belmonte who declares his love (Aria: "" – "When tears of joy flow"). The two couples reunite (Quartet, Belmonte, Konstanze, Pedrillo, Blonde: "" – "Ah, Belmonte, ah my dear one!"). After their initial expressions of love and joy, Belmonte and Pedrillo both question anxiously whether their respective fiancees have remained faithful during their forced separation; to their delight, the women respond with indignation and dismay, and Blonde slaps Pedrillo's face. The two men apologize for their lack of confidence; the women forgive them for their offensive questions.
Act 3
Klaas and Pedrillo come to the garden with ladders (Aria, Belmonte: "" – "Love, only love, can now direct me"). Pedrillo attracts the attention of the women by singing a ballad about a rescue similar to the one he is planning (Romanze, Pedrillo: "" – "In Moorish lands a maiden fair"). However, Osmin enters, sees the ladders, and rouses the castle. Osmin exults in the prospect of seeing them all hanged (Aria: "" – "My triumphant hour's approaching"). Belmonte pleads for their lives and tells Pasha Selim that his father is a Spanish
Grandee
Grandee (; , ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...
and Governor of
Oran
Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...
, named Lostados, and will pay a generous ransom. Unfortunately, Pasha Selim and Lostados are long-standing enemies. The Pasha rejoices in the opportunity to subject his enemy's son to a horrible death. He leaves Belmonte and Konstanze to bid each other a last farewell; they lovingly assure each other that being tortured to death will be a pleasure, so long as they get tortured to death together (Duet: "" – "What dreadful fate conspires against us.... Woe, you will die because of me"). However, the Pasha then decides that he can make a better point against Lostados by showing mercy and releasing Belmonte and his friends. All are set at liberty – much to the dismay of Osmin (Finale: "" – "Your noble mercy passes measure").
Recordings
Adaptations
The
Australian Broadcasting Commission
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is a ...
made a TV production in 1961 as the English-language ''
The Abduction from the Seraglio'', using outdoor filming in addition to the stage setting.
The American post-modernist writer
Donald Barthelme wrote a surreal comic short story entitled "The Abduction from the Seraglio" (published in ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' in January 1978, collected in ''Great Days'', Farrar, Strous & Giroux 1979, and in ''
Sixty Stories'', 1981) in which Belmonte, as narrator, is reconfigured into a cowboy sculptor (whose arias are Country & Western songs), Constanze into his ex-lover, a counter-culture free spirit seduced by the Pasha, who in turn is a
Plymouth automobile dealer worth five million dollars a year. Belmonte's rescue attempt fails as Constanze decides to stay with the Pasha, and he is left bereft.
Music professor, composer, and humorist
Peter Schickele claims to have "discovered" the fictitive composer
P. D. Q. Bach
P. D. Q. Bach is a fictional composer created by the American composer and musical satirist Peter Schickele for a five-decade career performing the "discovered" works of the "only forgotten son" of the Bach family. Schickele's music combines Par ...
's ''
The Abduction of Figaro'' (1984), a
pastiche
A pastiche () is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking ...
of the and Mozart's ''
The Marriage of Figaro
''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...
''.
The Finnish composer
Aulis Sallinen wrote an opera called ''
The Palace
''The Palace'' is a British drama television series that aired on ITV (TV network), ITV in 2008. Produced by Company Pictures for the ITV network, it was created by Tom Grieves and follows a fictional British Royal Family in the aftermath of t ...
'' (first performed 1995); it contains characters whose names are adapted from ''Abduction'' and loosely uses elements of the plot of Mozart's opera as the starting point of a satirical fantasy.
"Some Thoughts on ''The Palace''"
by Aulis Sallinen, musicfinland.fi, 1995
References
Notes
Sources
* his is a recent edition of a much older work.*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*,
The Opera Goer's Complete Guide
', 1921 version
pp. 2–3
(Synopsis adapted from this source) – via Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
External links
*
Libretto
critical edition
Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts (mss) or of printed books. Such texts may range i ...
s, diplomatic editions, source evaluation (German only), links to online DME recordings; Digital Mozart Edition
*
Score
a
at Indiana University
Synopsis, German/English libretto
Opera Folio
''Die Entführung aus dem Serail''
IMDb
IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
*, Salzburg Marionette Theatre; Rita Streich sings Blonde, Josef Greindl Osmin, RIAS Symphony Orchestra, Ferenc Fricsay
Ferenc Fricsay (; 9 August 1914 – 20 February 1963) was a Hungarian conductor. From 1960 until his death, he was an Austrian citizen.
Biography
Fricsay was born in Budapest in 1914 and studied music under Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Ern ...
, 1954
{{DEFAULTSORT:Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail
Operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
German-language operas
Singspiele
Rescue operas
Operas
Operas set in Turkey
1782 operas
Opera world premieres at the Burgtheater
Orientalism
1782 in the Habsburg monarchy
1782 in the Holy Roman Empire
18th century in Vienna