The social context: Vienna and her ruler; Musicians, opera, and
audience in Mozart's time; Mozart and Vienna; Mozart and his
personal circle; Da Ponte and the Buffa plot; Cosi fan tutte and
contemporary morality; Mozart and Opera Buffa; Drama and musical
form in Le nozze di Figaro; Don Giovanni: musical form and dramatic
cohesion; Cosi fan tutte; Epilogue; Appendix: casts of characters,
plot synopses, and
musical outlines for the three operas
`the most important book about Mozart to appear in many years...It
should become a classic.'
H. C. Robbins Landon, Musical Times
`the most illuminating exploration of the territory to appear in
English since Edward Dent's historic study of 1913 ' Peter
Heyworth, Observer
`His is a rich and learned book, drawing upon a wide range of
recent Mozart scholarship...Steptoe provides fascinating
information about theatres, singers and audiences...Steptoe's book
is to be praised for according due attention and respect to
Mozart's skilled librettist.' William Stafford, Times Higher
Education Supplement
`here is an engrossing progress report which garners much of the
recent research...abounding in provocative ideas' Charles
Morgenstern, Oxford Times
`interesting recent study'
David Cairns, Sunday Times
`What is particularly pleasing about Steptoe's narrative is the
attention he gives to the minutiae of everyday life. In his
commonsensical grasp of the perspectives of Da Ponte's plot and
Mozart's treatment of it, Steptoe gives us as good a context as
any...to re-approach the opera with a clear mind.'
Richard Osborne, Times Literary Supplement
`immensely thoughtful and thorough book...Steptoe writes with a
calm and scholarly enthusiasm, and the range of his researches is
impressive. Much of the strength of Steptoe's work...rests on his
ability to assemble statistics and then to analyse them in a
level-headed and clear manner... it is a welcome addition to the
shelves of any passionate Mozartian.'
Jane Glover, Opera
`may well prove to be the most important reconsideration of
Mozart's operas since Dent...The six-page bibliography barely does
justice to Steptoe's wide reading...but it conveys his impressive
knowledge of recent scholarly literature in various languages, as
well as of primary material...this is a book by a sensitive
listener who works everything out for himself and thus adds many
fresh perceptions to those shared with previous critics.'
Julian Rushton, Music & Letters
`Andrew Steptoe has written a valuable and attractively presented
study of The Mozart-Da Ponte Operas. Though there is no lack of
perceptive and nicely illustrated analysis of the music, for many
readers the depiction of the historical, social and cultural
context will be quite as valuable...For the connoisseur, the heart
of the book is the intricate detail, embedded in sound, lively and
more general argument, about the three great operas...This is
a fine book.'
Austrian Studies
`Steptoe's monograph furnishes a framework for understanding these
operas and as such is one fo the most significant treatises in
opera criticism to appear in recent years...Steptoe's clarification
of the enigmatic interplay and the consequent cross-fertilization
between composer and librettist is indeed a major advance in our
knowledge and appreciation of Mozart's remarkable achievement.'
Notes, June 1991
`He writes well, and the opening chapters on cultural context
provide interesting and perinent material.'
The Eighteenth Century
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