East meets West in new opera

It's a Western masterpiece with Eastern flavor. It's a hodgepodge of speech and arias. It's Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Abduction from the Seraglio."\nPresented tonight by the IU Opera Theatre, the opera features many different theatrical styles and character types. The libretto has elements of vaudeville, opera buffa, pre-romantic ideas and is in many ways an oriental opera, said Stefano Vizioli, guest stage director.\nMozart wrote this at 26, during one of the happiest periods in his life -- when he married Constanza Weber (who shares names with this opera's heroine). Critics say Mozart's personal happiness is reflected in the opera. \n"Abduction from the Seraglio" takes place in Turkey and tells the story of three Europeans who have been sold to the Pasha Selim. Constanza, a Spanish noblewoman, has been placed in Selim's seraglio, or harem; Blonda, her English maid, is given as a gift to the Pasha's guard Osmin; and Constanza's servant Pedrillo is made the Pasha's gardener. The action begins when Belmonte, Constanza's fiancé, tracks her to Selim's palace. The rest is his race to save her before she succumbs to the desires of the Pasha.\n"The 'Abduction from the Seraglio' was written in Vienna for a Viennese audience," said Imre Palló, who will conduct the IU Concert Orchestra in the production. "It is the first of Mozart's two German operas and it is basically a Singspiel or play opera. What makes it so special is that it is a Singspiel with Mozart's music."\nMuch of the dialogue is spoken instead of sung as in traditional opera. The characters break into song only to express stong emotions, seldom to further the story. One important character, the Pasha, does not sing at all but only speaks.\nBecause the opera combines both operatic and theatrical elements, the cast faces a challenge of working in both genres.\n"The difficulty comes not only in effectively portraying such a variety of characters, but also in combining singing with acting techniques, since much of the parts are spoken," he said. "That is also why it is better that we are performing the opera in English -- the performers can be more comfortable with their spoken parts and what they say can reach the audience in a more direct manner."\nThe opera is infused with a spirit of confluence of Eastern and Western culture. It features Turkish music, where the piccolo and the percussion are used frequently, Palló said. In this way, Mozart creates an exotic effect.\nTo emphasize this feature of the opera, Vizioli included a traditional Middle Eastern dance, choreographed by Nasrin Hekmat-Farrokh, a recent IU graduate with a degree in opera directing.\n"(The dance) has never been done before and it respects the Middle Eastern tradition," Hekmat-Farrokh said.\nThe whirling dance of the dervishes has its origins in the teachings of the 13th-century Persian mystic Rumi (known as Molana, or master), whose philosophy taught to "treat God with the intimacy of a lover." The dance itself represents the circular motion of natural bodies and by engaging in it the dancer becomes "one with the cosmos" and casts off his personal ego, as is symbolized by the tall, tombstone-like hat.\nIn the opera, Selim performs the dance right after he has forgiven and released Belmonte, even though he could have revenged an earlier wrong. Selim takes off his black cloak, symbolizing his rejection of personal satisfaction, and performs the dance as an act of love.\n"The dance is above all a union of the dancer with God and divine love," Hekmat-Farrokh said. "It is an expression of cosmic joy." \nBut the Middle East doesn't reign supreme in the set design.\n"The set design for this opera is in the style of the traditional Baroque theatre of the 18th century. One set is used with four curtains to delineate the scenes," said set designer Robert O'Hearn. "The Europeans' costumes are in the 18th-century style and the Turks wear the traditional turbans and robes of the time."\nIn his opera, Mozart strove to bring themes relevant to his time.\n"The exotic setting and stereotyped Turkish characters represent the common attitude that Europe had to the Middle East at that time," Vizioli said. "They feared Turkish conquest but also were seduced by the exotic treasures of the orient. The frequent culture clashes can also be taken as a message that we need to respect the opinion of a culture that is not our own."\n-- Contact staff writer Adam Sedia at asedia@indiana.edu.