What did Mozart compose for you to sing? Operas, art songs, concert works, and chamber music.
Why should you sing it? Line, clarity, facility, and humanity.
All students of classical singing need to study Mozart for many reasons. It takes technique to sing a Mozart aria with consistency, and every professional in the business knows it. Most opera conductors and directors want to hear Mozart in auditions because it is almost always a foolproof way to determine whether you know how to sing. Most voice teachers ask singers to work on Mozart because mastering the technical requirements for one Mozart aria will benefit every other aria in your book.
Mozart wrote exquisite lines, which take training to sing well and experience to deliver effortlessly. Mozart’s arias display extremely difficult tricks of the trade: high Fs for the Queen of the Night, more low notes than most ingénues can deliver in the soubrette roles, phrases that lie entirely in the passaggio for many heroic types, and extreme low ranges for the basso characters. A singer must know their own voice well when choosing a Mozart character so that it doesn’t become a “tell” for your inexperience but rather a platform to highlight what you do well right now. Mozart’s characters are timeless—they are relatable human beings with strengths and weaknesses that most of us can identify with.
Mozart wrote art songs in Italian, German, and French. The songs are typically miniature versions of his operatic arias, so a younger voice can learn the style of Mozart without being judged on whether they could be heard over an orchestra. Many Mozart arias require a mature voice with agile technique, but there are some that are still appropriate studies for younger singers with good facility.
This month let’s look at one song and one aria that are representative of many Mozartian choices.
One Lied (song) that is an excellent study for almost any young singer is “Das Veilchen” with text by the great German poet Goethe. “The violet” is a neutral noun in German and can represent either a male or female, making this song an ideal study for a student of either gender. This poem includes narration, a human point of view, and the romantic longings of the violet.
Mozart, unlike any other composer who set this Goethe poem to music, added a line of his own at the end of the song. After the sweet longing of the violet to be picked by the suitor, it is trampled—but sings that it rejoices to be trampled at the feet of its lover. Mozart’s added line is translated, “The poor violet! It was a lovable violet.” (See Musical Example 1.) This phrase is marked both a piacere, meaning “as you please,” simulating the style of recitativo secco but with just three words rather than three hours and a tempo for the final five words on notes that are doubled in the piano part.
Future opera singers will learn to express the depths of human emotion in Mozart’s simple musical format that can be learned quickly. This song serves as an interesting introduction to dramatic presentation by offering three characters in as many pages. The compelling subject (Das Veilchen) that is so in love with the human in the meadow is happy to die at the foot of the object of its heart’s desire.
Ernst Ballin wrote in the foreword of the 1963 Neue Mozart-Ausgabe (New Mozart Edition), “In songs with piano accompaniment, Mozart reveals himself in the field which is most typically his own: these creations for voice show us essential Mozart, a dramatist working within this most compact sphere.”
Musical Example 1. Measure “Das Veilchen”
One Mozart aria that is often assigned to undergraduate mezzos and sopranos alike is “Voi che sapete” from Le nozze di Figaro. With the libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, this aria is from one of Mozart’s greatest operas, yet it is a wonderful study and showpiece for younger female voices. Much of the musical line sits in the passaggio, which requires technical agility, but the orchestration is light with a predominant use of pizzicato, which allows this aria to be well suited to a lighter voice. The role of Cherubino is a pants role, which offers a big opportunity to explore character and presentation in boyish fashion.
Cherubino’s character sings “Voi che sapete” in the second act in the Countess’ private chambers with Susanna accompanying him on her guitar. He sings about feeling new passion and the excitement and also torture that comes along with his desire for pretty girls. Singing actors that can step into Cherubino’s shoes have so much comedic timing written in the music that this aria is simply a treat for scene partners and audience alike.
When Cherubino sings “Sento un affetto pien di desir” [“I feel an affection full of desire”], for example, the word affetto descends on a half step that serves as a leading tone but is not resolved, just as poor Cherubino’s sexual tension remains unfulfilled for the duration of the opera, and the word desir descends like a sigh of resignation. (See Musical Example 2.1.)
Next, Cherubino follows with, “ch’ora è diletto, ch’ora è martir” [“which now is pleasure, which now is torture”]. The word diletto is a melisma of ascending then descending 16th notes, depicting that flutter of affection. The word martir is a simple quarter note followed by a quarter rest (see Musical Example 2.2) and, subsequently, Cherubino sings about his soul freezing but also abruptly bursting into flames. His character depicts teenage drama to the max and every young woman that has been frustrated by a young man’s inability to express his feelings can take their revenge by demonstrating what a hot mess every teenage boy can be.
This approach to Cherubino’s performance is simply one choice, but my intent is to encourage your exploration of the characters you sing. With Mozart opera, you will find masterfully set texts and music that depict human characteristics with simplicity and specificity.
Musical Example 2.1. Measures 29-32 of “Voi che sapete”
Musical Example 2.2. Measures 33-36 of “Voi che sapete”
“I believe in God, Mozart, and Beethoven.”
—Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner’s works influenced almost every classical musician that came along after him. For a visionary composer of enormous works, including The Ring Cycle, to humbly state that he believes in Mozart is a reminder that when it comes to singing, we have much to learn from Mozart. His works are instantly recognizable with his classical style, simplicity of melodic material, and a beauty that few can deny.
This summer I urge you to sing Mozart. Study Mozart. Listen to Mozart. His music offers endless possibilities for improving your vocal technique, diving into musical and dramatic expression, simply relishing in his ability to write a beautiful melody, and so much more.
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Endnotes
1 John Glenn Paton. Mozart 12 Songs. (Alfred Music, 1992), 39.
2 Robert L. Larsen. Arias for Mezzo-Soprano. (G. Schirmer, Inc., 1991), 46.
3 Larsen, 47.
