''Thamos, King of Egypt'' (or ''King Thamos''; in German, ''Thamos, König in Ägypten'') is a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

by , for which, between 1773 and 1780,

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 ...

wrote

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

, K. 345/336a, of an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic character. The autograph manuscript of the work is preserved in the Berlin State Library.

Early performances

It is not known for certain whether the music that Mozart composed was performed with the play during his lifetime. The play's première took place at the Kärntnertortheater in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, probably on 4 April 1774, by which time two choruses had been written. Performances in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

in 1776 and 1779-80 may have incorporated the orchestral interludes and the three choruses in their final form, respectively. The music was re-used in 1783 in a different play (set in India, not Egypt), ''Lanassa'', by Karl Martin Plümicke.

Roles

The only named role in Mozart's music is Sethos, the high priest (

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

). There are parts for four other soloists (

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

and

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) and for a chorus of priests and priestesses.

Synopsis

Thamos has succeeded his father, Ramesses, as king of Egypt, but Ramesses had usurped the throne from the rightful king, Menes, who is now disguised as the high priest, Sethos. Thamos loves Sais, a priestess, but she is really Menes' daughter Tharsis, for whom the high priestess Mirza is plotting marriage to Pheron, a treacherous general. When Menes reveals his true identity, Pheron is struck by lightning and Mirza kills herself. Menes cedes his crown to Thamos and Tharsis as all ends happily.

Literary sources

King Thamos is an imaginary character, but it is likely his character was inspired by Thamus, mythical Pharaoh of Upper Egypt mentioned by Socrates in the Platonic dialogue Phaedrus.

Musical numbers

''Act 1'' *Chorus: "Schon weichet dir, Sonne" (Maestoso) *Interlude (Maestoso-Allegro) ''Act 2'' *Interlude (Andante) ''Act 3'' *Interlude (Allegro) ''Act 4'' *Interlude (Allegro Vivace Assai) ''Act 5'' *Chorus and soloists: "Gottheit, über alle mächtig!" (Allegro Moderato) *Chorus with solo for Sethos: "Ihr Kinder des Staubes, erzittert"

Recordings

The following list shows the discography of the work either in its entirety, with soloists, choir and orchestra, or shortened/cut versions: * Ruthilde Boesch, Ilse Hollweg, Maria Nussbaumer-Knoflach, Waldemar Kmentt, Walter Berry, Wiener Kammerchor, Wiener Symphoniker conducted by Bernhard Paumgartner (mono recording from 1955 for the ''Mozart Anniversary Edition'' on

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by Netherlands, Dutch electronics company Philips and in 1999 was absorbed into Netherlands, Dutch-United States, American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonograph ...

). * London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Peter Maag (recording of the orchestral interludes only from 1968 on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

). * Charlotte Lehmann, Rose Scheible, Oly Pfaff, Bruce Abel, Vokalensemble Heilbronn, Württemberg Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jörg Faerber (originally released on Turnabout in 1977, then on the parent label VOX). * Karin Eickstaedt, Gisela Pohl, Eberhard Büchner,

Theo Adam Theo Adam (1 August 1926 – 10 January 2019) was a German operatic bass-baritone and bass singer who had an international career in opera, concert and recital from 1949. He was a member of the Staatsoper Dresden for his entire career, and s ...

, Hermann Christian Polster, Solistenvereinigung des Berliner Rundfunks, Staatskapelle Berlin conducted by Bernhard Klee (recording of the complete incidental music from 1975 for Philips Records. Reissued in 1991 as part of Volume 25 of ''

The Complete Mozart Edition ''The Complete Mozart Edition '' is a 180-CD collection released in 1990–91 featuring all works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (known at the set's publication) assembled by Philips Classics Records to commemorate the bicentenary of the death of Moz ...

,'' it's regarded as the reference recording). * Thomas Thomaschke, Janet Perry, Anne-Marie Mühle, Marius van Altena, Harry van der Kamp, Netherlands Chamber Choir, Collegium Vocale (dir. Philippe Herreweghe), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt (1981 recording of the complete score on Teldec). * Robert Holl, Salzburger Kammerchor, Mozarteum-Orchester Salzburg conducted by Leopold Hager (1982 recording of a cut score on

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

). * Alastair Miles, The Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner (1993 recording of the complete score, including revised versions of Nos. 1, 6 and 7 from 1779–80, ergo making it the most complete and comprehensive recording of the work in its entirety).

References

*Holden, Amanda (Ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. *Warrack, John and West, Ewan, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'' New York: OUP: 1992

External links

* ''Thamos König in Ägypten'', K. 345 (336a)

* * *(Konzertmitschnitt vom 26. Juni 2018, Festival Seine Musicale, Boulogne-Billancourt.) {{Authority control German plays Operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart German-language operas 1779 operas Incidental music Operas Operas set in ancient Egypt