Abduction
A comedy in three acts
Based on Belmont und Constanze, oder Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Belmonte and Constance, or The Abduction from the Seraglio) by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner
Composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Librettist
Christoph Friedrich Bretzner
Johann Gottlieb Stephanie
First performance
July 16, 1782, Burgtheater, Vienna, Austria
Run time
Approximately 2 hrs 45 min
including two intermissions
Sung in German with English dialogue
English captions projected above the stage
Date
Friday, October 16, 7:30 pm
Sunday, October 18, 2:30 pm
Venue
The Egyptian Theatre
700 W Main St, Boise
Doors open
6:00 pm (Oct 16) | 1:00 pm (Oct 18)
Center Stage with Stacey
6:30 pm (Oct 16) | 1:30 pm (Oct 18)
Ticket Prices
Adult: $41 to $132
Senior: $33 to $119
Youth: $29 to $87
Military discount available
Groups
Save 20% on groups of 10 or more. Contact the box office at 208-345-3531.
All tickets show the “all-in” price, fees and tax included.
Synopsis
Act I
Turkey, the 1700s. Pasha Selim has bought as slaves three Europeans taken prisoner by pirates: Konstanze, a young Spanish lady; Blondchen, her English maid; and Pedrillo, who is the servant of Konstanze’s fiancé, Belmonte, and in love with Blondchen. Belmonte has traced the trio to the pasha’s seaside palace, where Konstanze has become her new master’s favorite. The pasha has made Pedrillo his gardener and has given Blondchen to Osmin, his palace overseer.
At the palace gate, Belmonte encounters Osmin, who treats him coolly and flies into a rage when Belmonte asks about Pedrillo, Osmin’s rival. Osmin drives Belmonte away and then rails at Pedrillo when he suggests that they should finally make peace. Belmonte returns and learns from Pedrillo that the pasha has fallen in love with Konstanze but will not force himself on her. Pedrillo will try to arrange a meeting between Konstanze and Belmonte and an escape by boat with Blondchen.
Konstanze returns from a pleasure trip with the pasha. He has been treating her with respect but she cannot forget Belmonte and keeps rejecting his advances. Pedrillo introduces Belmonte to the pasha as a promising young architect and Selim welcomes him. Osmin tries to bar the way as Belmonte and Pedrillo enter the palace, but they force their way past him.
Act II
In the palace garden, Blondchen explains to Osmin how a European woman should be treated. Konstanze finds Blondchen and laments her sad situation. When the pasha again asks her to marry him, she tells him she would prefer torture, even death, to betraying her fiancé. Blondchen and Pedrillo discuss the escape plan: they will get Osmin drunk and all four leave on Belmonte’s ship. Even though Osmin’s religion forbids him to drink wine, Pedrillo has no difficulty in getting him drunk, leaving the coast clear for the two couples to meet.
Act III
That night, Belmonte and Pedrillo come to the ladies’ window with a ladder. Pedrillo sings a serenade as the signal for escape, but this wakes Osmin, who is not too hungover to realize what is going on. The four are locked up. When brought before the pasha, Belmonte suggests he collect a ransom from his wealthy family, the Lostados. At the mention of this name, the pasha realizes that Belmonte is the son of an old enemy, the man who exiled him from his own country. He decides to repay evil with good, freeing Konstanze and Belmonte, and even Blondchen and Pedrillo. The grateful couples praise their benefactor as they prepare to set sail.
About the Composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a musical prodigy from the age of six, and is considered by many to be the greatest musician of all time. His legions of works include famous pieces for symphonies and operas, choral and piano; nearly every one is considered a masterpiece of the classical music form.
International acclaim is nothing new for Mozart. Believing him a gift of God, his father exhibited Mozart’s manifest talents to the world. Acclaimed in his own era, Mozart was well regarded as a man of unique musical abilities and talents by his contemporaries.
His works were prodigious. Beginning at age 10, Mozart composed fifty symphonies during his life. In his youth, he was knighted by the Pope and performed for the King and Queen of England. Gifted with “perfect pitch,” Mozart’s inborn abilities as a natural musician became increasingly evident the older he grew. Other seemingly supernatural gifts were equally stunning. It was not uncommon for young Mozart to pick up an instrument and play it without a single lesson.
At twenty-five, Mozart married and settled in his homeland of Austria. Although Emperor Joseph of Austria briefly employed him, Mozart struggled to clothe and feed his family. Ironically enough, the emperor clothed Mozart in fine apparel and bestowed upon him the gift of a large ring to be worn during performances.
Mozart wrote every genre of music known to him, including symphonies, concertos, chamber music, church music, operas, and operettas—most of which are regarded as masterpieces today. Among his most acclaimed works are the operas Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, and The Marriage of Figaro. Although Mozart died at the age of thirty-five, his legacy on western music is profound: not just in terms of sheer numbers, but in their emotional impact, his works include the frivolous and lively to the solemn and morose.