mozart's and the irony of beauty
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
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Mozart's "felix culpa: Cos fan tutte" and the Irony of BeautyAuthor(s): Scott BurnhamSource: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 78, No. 1 (Spring, 1994), pp. 77-98Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/742494.
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
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Mozart's
elix
ulpa:
Cosi
fan
utte
and
he
ronyfBeauty
Scott
urnham
Never
as
an
opera
rawnttention
o tself
n
quite
he
ame
way
s
Mozart'sosifan utte:a scuola eglimanti.tscriticaleceptionas
beenmarked
y
mbivalenceromts
premiere
o
the
presentay.
For
if
he
music
f
Cosi
eems
narguablyumptuous,
eethoven'sell-
known
njunctiongainst
he
perceivedriviality
f he
ibrettoas
rarely
een vercome.
In
thenineteenth
entury
his ttitude
reachedn
extreme;
arious
rasticndnow
nfamous
evisions ere
foisted
pon
he
pera, etaining
he
music
hile
hanging
ome f
thewords reven he ntire
tory.2
oncern
bout hefit
fmusic
and ibrettoontinueso be reflected
n
some f
hemost
mportant
criticismfCosi nour wn entury. hileno one nthis geof he
sacrosanctextwould
o
so far
s to
suggest
ltering
he
ibretto,
riti-
cal ambivalence
ingers
n
attempts
o
account or
he
perceived
is-
junction
fmusic ndwords. till
t
question
s
the
pecific
ffectf
setting
hat s heard s
incomparably
eautiful
usic
o this
articular
libretto.
hus,
Hermann
bert ees he
pera
s
the scent
f
atire
to
rony,
he
humanizationf
talian
pera
uffa.3
olfgang
ildes-
heimer etects kind
f
uperior
arody, "parody
s
discipline,"
inthefact hatMozartortrayseignedmotions ith uch enuine
expression.4
nd
Joseph
ermanlaims
hat
Mozart's usic
makes
clear hat he entralssue
n
the
pera
s
not
Alfonso's
emonstration
of he
predictability
fhuman
ature ut
ather
he
mystery
f
human
feeling.5
Theseviews ll
imply
hatMozart's
usic
perates
t
some is-
tance romhe ibretto.6
orAbert nd
Hildesheimer,
he
music
ecu-
perates
he ibrettovenwhile
tanding
part
rom
t,
either
y
humanizingt,
or
bymakingtsparodisticntentvenmore ointed
(diabolically
o,
as wewill ee
below).
nKerman's
iew,
he
music
puts
tselft oddswith
he
ynicism
f
Da
Ponte'sibrettoand
o
spoils
his
immaculate
lay."'7
The
disparity
etweenmusic
nd
libretto
turns
argely
n the
perception
hat hemusic
eems
obecome
ven
77
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
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78
TheMusical
uarterly
more
avishing
nd
heartfeltt
those
oints
n
the
pera
where
he
basestort fdeceptionspracticed:here emightxpect ald om-
edy,
hemusic alls ike scrim
f
melancholy
eauty
ver
he
often
preposterous
ction. t is n
fact his
tmosphere
hat
onstituteshe
peculiar
ascinationf his
pera
ndthat
an evenbe
heard
s
some-
thing
ike
he
pera's
onsciousness
f
tself;
ts
most haracteristic
expression
s found
n
key
reas ome
emove
rom
(as
in
the
E-
major
rio
r
theA-flat
ajor
anon f hefinale
f ct
2, or,
loser
to
C,
in
the erenade
n
E-flatr the ovemusicn A
major).8
What ole sthemusic layingere?nwhat ollows,will
suggest
hat hemusic cts s a locus or
n alternative
oint
f
view
to
that
ssayed
n
the ibretto's
tory,
hus
cting
s a
powerful
ri-
tique
f
Enlightenment
otions freason
ndhuman
ature,
nd,
further,
hat he
uxtaposition
f
ibrettond
music
ltimately
mplies
no less theme han hebirth f onsciousnessndthe
fall fMan.
We
may
egin
y
avesdropping
n a
famous
onversation,
rom
E.
T.
A.
Hoffmann's
The Poet ndthe
Composer":
Ferdinand: ut
can
music
e
expected
o
express
omedy
n all its
nuances?
Ludwig:
am
absolutely
onvinced t
can,
and artists f
genius
have
proved
t
a hundred
imes.
Musiccan
convey,
or
xample,
n
impres-
sion
of the most
delicious
rony,
uch
as
that
pervading
ozart's
plen-
did
pera
osi
an
utte.
Ferdinand: he
thought
ow strikes
me
that,
ccording
o
your rin-
ciple,
the
despised
ibretto f
that
pera
s
in
fact
ruly
peratic.9
With hese
words offmann
ay
avebeen
hefirst
mportant
ritic
to
acknowledge
he
peraticotential
fDa Ponte's
ibretto,
uthe
is
no
longer
he ast.
Yet
recent
pologists
or
he
ibretto
eem
ess
interested
n the
ibretto's
nvitation
o
rony,tressing
nsteadhe
felicities
f ts too
nearly
erfect"
onstruction.
0The
lack
f
psycho-
logical ealismnthe torytselfsfelt obecounteractedy hemusi-
cal
permutations
f ts
haracters.11
here
s no
arguing
ith his
aspect
f he ibretto:
o the onventional
roup
f
wo
airs
f overs
Da Ponte dds wo uffa
haracters
nd nso
doing pens p
a
myriad
of musical combinational
possibilities,
which are
thoroughly xplored
by
Mozart.
Indeed,
this work
has the most ensembles
of
any
Mozart
opera.12
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
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Mozart's
elix
ulpa
79
Hoffmann,owever,
as
presumably
eacting
o the
lmost
xag-
geratedevels fdramaticronyhat boundnCosi, ronyirectly
attributable
o the ibretto.
o
begin
with,
achcharacter-or
air
f
characters
n
the aseof he overs-has different
mpression
fwhat
is real
ndwhat s
feigned,
eading
o an ever
resent
nd
complexly
textured
rony
hat hifts
ubtly
ith
very
xit
ndentrance.
Throughout
he
play
withinhe
play,
ut
specially
n
the
finale f
thefirst
ct,
hemen
n
particular
ind
hemselves
evilishly
ickled
by
he
rony
f
heir
redicament:
hey
rehonor ound o
act
out
their arce sconvincinglyspossible,ndderive o littlenjoyment
from
heir uccess
n
so
doing
"Un
quadretto
ihi
iocondo
on
'"
visto
n
questo
mondo").
t
the ame
ime,
hey
egin
o
apprehend
the
utcome
f heir
uccess
"Ne
vorreihe tanto
oco erminasse
n
quel
d'amor.").
inally,
he
ntire
lay perates
t a
constant
nd
overriding
evel fdramatic
rony.
s Charles
osen as
observed,
a
Ponte'sibretto
itsnto
tradition
f
ighteenth-century
emonstra-
tion
lays.
hese
plays
were
ntendedo
expose
ome
spect
fhuman
naturey ngagingnan"experiment"ithin closed nvironment.
The conclusion
s known
n
advance;
he nteresties
n
the
psycho-
logical
teps
hat eadto
t.13
Thus,
Da Ponte's
tory
ot
only
ro-
vides or
many
ituations
hat re
dramatically
ronic
mong
he
people
n the
tage
truth
or
ome haracterss
deception
or
thers),
but hewhole
nfoldingtory
s
dramatically
ronic
or lfonso
nd,
by
xtension,
he udience.
But
part
rom
roviding
ozart
ith
he ccasion or
delicious
irony"
nd
with
suggestive
rray
f
hifting
nsembles,
henature f
Da Ponte'storyllowsMozartoexploreheparadoxicalelationship
of ruthnd
llusions
it
obtains
n
art
nd
n
human
onsciousness.
Thismost haracteristicnd
puzzlingspect
f
Cosi
an
uttes
epito-
mized
n
the wo ceneswe
willnow
xamine:he
feigned
arewell
n
thefirstct
andthe eduction
uet
ung y
Ferrandond
Fiordiligi
near
he
ndof
the econd ct.
(Access
o
a
score,
ither ocal r
orchestral,
ill
acilitate
better
nderstanding
f he
following
iscussion.)
When ruth
ills
ruth,
devilish-holyray
-A
Midsummer
ight's
ream,
.2
The several umbers
onstituting
he farewellceneof thefirst
act
convey
ointedly
he
unsettling
elationship
f truth nd illusion
in
this
opera.
As the action nd music
rogress
romhe E-flat
major
quintet
o the
E-major
rio,
his
relationshipeepens
nto
paradox.
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
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80
TheMusical
uarterly
The
scene
s
announced
y
Don Alfonso's
alting
-minor
rioso
no.
5), in which eappriseshewomenf he alamityoncerningheir
lovers. his
alamity
s,
of
ourse,
othing
ther han hemen's
re-
tended all to
military
uty,
eaving
heirmmediateuturesncertain
in
the
yes
f heir rideso
be.
Don Alfonso's
ntrance
hus
marks
thefirst
tage
f
he
play
within
he
play.
he next ive
umbers
orm
an
extended
arewellcene
onsisting
f
quintet,
uettino,horus,
another
uintet
ollowed
y
horus,
ndthe
E-major
erzettino.
The
quintet
o. 6
presents
hemen ndwomen
ogether
or he
first
ime,
ccompanied
y
Don Alfonso. he
key
f
E-flat
ajor
nd
its peningriadictatementend degreef olemnitysthemen
profess
heir
nability
o
express
ust
how errible
hey
eel
bout heir
imminent
eparture.
nswering
n
the
dominant,
he
women leave
closely
o
one
another
n
a texture
onsisting
ainly
f
parallel
hirds.
They
eact
n
an
exaggerated
anner,
sking
hemen o
plunge
knivesnto heir
osoms,
melodramaticouch hat s noted
n
the
music
y
he
brief
ssumption
fB-flat inor. oon thewomenre
calling
or
eath
ather
han
he
orrow
f
parting,
n
a
series
f
rising
statementsver nagitatedtringexturend pedal oint n B-flat.
This
displaytrengthens
hemen's onfidence
n
the
fidelity
f heir
lovers,
utwhen
hey ay,
See,
told
you
o,"
to Don
Alfonso,
e
quietly
rges
hem o be
patient
ndwait or
he ndresult
f
their
ruse
mm. 0-46).
His
smiling
dmonishment
inglehandedly
rings
themusic ack o
E-flat
ajor.
here
ollows
neof
Mozart's
reat
sotto oce
passages,
hich,
s
in
other
xamples
f his
ind,
s
suf-
fused
ith sense f wewithwhat as
transpired.
nd,
ndeed,
he
text nvokeshedestructiveresencefFate.Thispassagesfollowed
by
returnf
heB-flat
edal oint
ectionndthe
gitated
utcries
of he
women,
hereupon
on
Alfonso
gain rings
veryone
ack o
E-flat,
nd
the
otto
oce
passage
s
recapitulated.
he
quintet
loses
with
peroration
hat onsists
argely
f he nteractionfFerrando's
musicaline
with hat f he
women,
roviding
hefirstvidencehat
Ferrandos somewhat
ore
ympathetic
usically
ith hem han
s
Guglielmo,
ho ften
airs
with on Alfonso
n
ike ituations.
The emotion
xpressed
n this
uintet
s
only
ncipient
nd s
primarilyharacterizedy he ssumptionf onventional,xaggerated
responses.
he
sotto oce ections
ring
he
participants
omewhat
out
of heir onventionalized
ehaviornto
omething
ore
umanly
emotional.As Abert
notes,however,
Mozart
rings
sto the thresh-
old of
emotional nvolvement
Rahrung)
erebutdoesnot et us
step
over it.14
Don Alfonso olds he
entire
uintet
n
equilibrium
ith
his
cool,
admonitory
one and his
musical oleof
bringing
ack the
tonic.He is
truly
n
charge
t
the
moment.
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Mozart's
elix
ulpa
81
Ferrando
nd
Guglielmo's
uettino
o.
7
then
ollows,
short
piece ungmostlynthirds hereinhemen dopt rather echani-
cal attitude
f
hope
for
happy
eunion.
Many
roductions
f
Cosi
have
een
fit o
drop
his ittle
umber,
hich
s'probably
tacit
acknowledgment
f tsfailureo sustainhe
burgeoning
motional
tone f he
pieces
urrounding
t
no.
6 andno. 9 in
particular],
ut
which
may
lso
imply
eflecthe
desire o
trim he
east
ndispensable
numbers
f
long pera.
5)
The
chorusnters ext nd
ings
humorous
ncomiumf
military
ife,
omplete
ith
attleground
sound ffects.ts
presence
n the
tage rovides
visible
pur
f
urgencyothemen's arewell,ncouraginghem oget n with t.
The
F-major
uintet
o.
9
presents
he ctual arewell
cene,
nd
it
deepens
onsiderably
he
motionalituationhatwe eft
n
theno.
6
quintet.
ormally,
o.
9
is a
kind
frounded
inary,
he
firstec-
tion
onsisting
armonically
f
he
imple
uccession
f
tonic
nd
dominant,
he
econd
ection f
much
more enturesomearmonic
traversal
f
F
major
ollowed
y
returnf ome
f
hefirst
ection.
The
opening
f he
uintet
resents
he
women
obbingly
eminding
themen owrite o themvery ay.A note f uppressions nherent
in the
ccompaniment,
ith ts
tubbornnsistencen
C,
the
fifth
degree
f
F,
as
the
upper
imit
fthemelodicndharmonic
otion.
The static
epetition
f his ote nforceshe
feeling
f he ob-
suppressed
ocal
ines. he music
imply
annot ise
rom
hat
,
but
must
un
somberreadmill
ntil he
ingers
avemasteredheir
sobs.
6
Two measures
efore he end
of
the first
ection,
on
Alfonso
adds
his
ronic
side,
lo
crepo
e nonrido."He
appropriates
he
nly
part f his articularusicalexturehat ould ccommodate
remark
n
that
pirit-the
ass
ine.We
suddenly
ecomemore ware
ofthat ass
ine nd
ts
arousel-liketerations.
n
singinglong
with
thebass
ine,
Don Alfonso
oints
utthe
dramatic
rony
hat
iterally
lies t the
bottom
f hismusical
exture;
e drawsttention
o an
aspect
f
hemusical
machinery
f
he
passage,
s
if
revealing
he
motorized
orks
ropelling
he
puppets
round n the
tage
bove.
But
Don
Alfonso'sote
f
rony
s
stayed,
or
n m.
7
a
remark-
able
metamorphosis
akes
lace.
Several
hings
appen ogether
ere:
thewomen bandonheirobbingighthotes nd tartingingeal
lines,
Fiordiligi
nitiating
hisnew tackwith much waited
eap
from
C to
F;
the
first
iolins,
cknowledgingiordiligi's
enture,
lso break
away
from hat
tatic
C
(it
is as
if
the
strength
o
pull away
fromhe
gravity
f thatC was needed
before
nythingruly
musical ould
hap-
pen);
and theharmonic
rogression
eaves
ts
tonic nd
dominant
nd
indulges
n a
suave
perusal
f
somemore
utlying
armonies. he
women's
wo
ines
ctually
merge
nd form ne
line,
whichdescends
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82
The
Musical
uarterly
from
2
to
Al.
They
sk hemen o
stay
aithfulo
them,
not
untraditionaloncernfwomen hose oversreoffo thewars. he
men,
owever,
espond
ith
simple
Addio,"
n
a setofoctave
leaps
ollowed
y
falling
hirds,
onnected
y
common
itch,
l
(althougheparated
y
wo
eats).
Again,
n F is
emphasized
s
the
starting
oint
f
descent,
n
upper
oundary.
he
women
espond
together
ith heir wn
Addio,"
n which
iordiligi,hrough
neighborigure,egains
he
F2,
nowharmonized
eceptively
y
vi.
In
m. 15
thefourovers
ing
ogether
ver n
extended six-five/V
with heF2 ontop,yet nother armonizationf heF. When
Fiordiligi
orks
p
chromatically
o
G2
in m.
16,
wefeel
ust
how
great
distance
hatwhole
tep
as
become ecause f he
previous
near-inviolability
fF as an
upper
oundary.
he
text t
this
oint
s
"Mi si divide
l
cor";
iordiligi's
ove o G2
truly
eems
stretch,
f
not
division,
f heheart. he
four-part
ocal exture orks own
to
Fl and cadence
n m.
19--again
eceptive
nd
llowing
more
florid
epetition
f
mm.
15-19--and
hen adences
uthentically
n
m. 23. In this
ection
f
he
uintet
he
music
wells ith
motion;the
puppets
f hefirstewmeasuresave ssumed
quite
alpable
humanity.
What ollows
s thebriefeturnf he
pening
usic,
n which
the overs
ing
series f
Addios,"
hile on Alfonso
gain
ides
the
bass
inewith is
cynical
side.The tonic-dominantarousel
brings
iordiligi
roundo the
F2
threemore
imes,
uther ide
nds,
significantlynough,
ack n
C.
She
never id ttain hat
igh
in
anymusically
onvincing
ay
fter
all--it
was itherhe tart
f
descentm. 7), theupper oal one f deceptiveadencem.14),
theunstable
eventhf
V
six-five/Vhord
which
miraculously
pulls
p
to
g
(mm.
16 and
20),
resolving
o e a measure
ater,
r
here,
in
the
final
ection,
n
untenable
pper
imit hat s denied
y
he
strings
nd
pulled
own
o ts nitialevel n
C.
Fiordiligi's
ttempts
to reach "true"
,
to break
onclusively
ith er
puppet-string
,
form
herecordf
decidedly
uman
truggle.
The
piece
s a whole ffersn
interesting
hapter
n our on-
tinuingarewellcene, or ereDon Alfonso'sole s reversedrom
that
f heno. 6
quintet. uring
hemiddleection f
no.
9,
in
which sudden
yricism
akes
light
romhe
obbing
erry-go-round
of
he
first
ection,
on
Alfonso'soice s silenced.
e does
not,
s
in
no.
6,
propel
he
music ackto tonic.He is reduced
n
no.
9
to
restricting
is
asides
o those
parts
f
the music
hat
implistically
reiteratehe tonic nddominant
armonies.
s soon as
the
music,
in
an
implied
ncrease f
humanity,
oves
beyond
he
puppet-like
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
8/23
Mozart's
elix
ulpa
83
prologue
nd dentifies
ith he motionsf real
arting,
hevoice
ofdramaticronystemporarilyuspended.he returno the pening
music
s
a
shocking
eminder
hat
hewhole
iece
s
based n but
feignedarting
fter
ll.
After
his
uintet,
hemen
et
nto he
departing
oats
ndthe
military
horuss
repeated.
he
twowomen ndDon Alfonso
tay
behind
nd
ing
traveler'senedictionor
heir
eparting
riends.
This
piece,
he
erzettino
o.
10
in E
major,
s
one of hemost
ouch-
ingly
eautifulumbers
n
all of
opera
nd
s
a crux or his
pera.
Theres noclue,withinheboundsfthis umber,hatwe aredeal-
ing
with
nything
ut real
ituation,
real
parting
nd ts
oncomi-
tant orrows
nd
hopes.
More han
hat,
he cene
ecomes
mble-
matic f
ll real
partings,
or he otto oce haracterf
hewhole
s
not
only
eminiscent
f ome f he
great
orpresa
cenes romnsem-
bles
n
Figaro
nd
Don
Giovanni,
ut lsoreacheslmost
eyond
mo-
tion,
uspending
he haracters
n
a
timelesslyymbolic
oment
n
which
estiny
nd
human
motion,
he ublimend
the
pathetic,
seem o
merge.
ozart'subtle one
ainting
s at
theheart fthis
magic;
he ubdued aveletiguresf hemutediolins,
ending
usi-
cal
support
o
the
extually
xpressed
ish or
mooth inds nd
tran-
quil
eas,
provide
he
ype
f
tylized
oncretiono essential
o the
creationf
n
artistic
ymbol.
hese
gentle
aves
eem o
ap
at
our
souls romome
reat
ommunalea
of
human orrownd
hope.
Don
Alfonso,
ar rom
ndermining
he
music,
s
washis
wont
n
no. 6
andno.
9,
is
now
aught p,
eemingly,
n
the
very
entimentse
was
previously
o keen
o mock.
Afterhe
pedalpoint
n
B
of
mm.
22-27,he nowmarkshereturno tonicwith rhapsodicecoration
of
the onic
riad,
ndicating
ot
ts
banality,
s
he did n
no.
9,
but
its
xpressiveotential.
The harsh
ight
f
reality
loodshe
tage mmediately
fter
his
piece,
however.
on
Alfonso,
ho
eemedo
caught
p
n
the
rio,
now
ompliments
imselfor
is
cting
alentsnd
proceeds
o
offer
hisownwind-and-water
iece, considerably
ustier
ersionhat
compares
rusting
woman's
eart o
plowing
he
ea,
strewing
eeds
insand, ndtryingocatch hewindnnets.This lastword" nds
the cene ndonce
gain
rings
he
udience ack
o the
uncomfort-
ablerealization
hat
what
hey
ust
awwas
feint.
The
wholefarewellcene as
I
have
described
t
shows remark-
able
progression
n
terms
oth
of the
emotions fthe overs s well
as
of the ronic bservationsf Don
Alfonso. he conventionalizedut-
burstsf sorrow
n
no.
6,
mixedwith he hintof
something
ore
heartfelt,
rogress
o
the constrained
yricism
f
no.
9, which,
or
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
9/23
84
TheMusical
uarterly
somemoments,rulyxpressesnemotionalontent. his nturn
moves o
no.
10,
whereinn
emotion
s
captured
nd
ustained
throughout
he ntire
iece.Correspondingly,
he evel
fDon Alfon-
so's
underminingrony
s
reduced
hrough
he ourse
fthe
hree
pieces
rom
controlling
orce
n
no. 6
to
that
xercised
y
n inside
commentator
n no.
9
and,
finally,
o
nothing,
uch
hat
e
even
seems o convert
o the
ther
ide
n
no.
10.
There,
Alfonsoan
only
play
herole
f
he utside
ommentator,
ne
whomust xercise
is
irony
utsidehebounds f he
piece.
Inspite f he nterjectionsfDonAlfonso,hemusicf his
whole cene eems ver
ualified
or he ask
llotted
t
by
he
libretto.t does ts
ob
toowell.
Consequently,
ozart's
usic
ffects
a
paradoxical
ransformation
f
llusion
nto
ruth,
transformation
that s
gradually
chieved
ith
nsurpassble
rtistrynly
o be ban-
ished
gnobly
ith he
Mephistophelian
xplosion
fDon Alfonso's
parting
hot.
ruth
ndeed
ills
ruth,
utwhich ruthemains
n
this
"devilish-holy
ray,"
lfonso'srMozart's?ndwe are
empted
s
well oask,who s aughingt whom ere?sMozartaughingt his
characters
y aunting
heir
uppet
xistence ith
limpses
f
human-
ity?
s he
laughing
t us
by
aking
s
n with
is ublime
eigning?
s
he
laughing
t himself
y
llustrating
hat
venmusic
hat
s n
the
service
f
deception
an be
truly
ublime?
The
only
onclusion e
can
reach s that
t s
ndeedMozart
who
s
doing
he
aughing.
r is he?
Could
he
be
identifying
eri-
ously
with hese
uppets?
n
response
o such
uestions,
e
may
well espond,ith harles osen, hat even o ask sto miss he
point.
.
. The art nthesematterss to tell ne's
tory
ithout
eing
foolishly
aken
n
by
t and
yet
without trace fdisdain or ts
ppar-
ent
implicity.
t is
an artwhich an become
rofound
nly
when he
attitude
f
uperiority
ever
mplies
ithdrawal,
hen
bjectivity
and
cceptance
re
ndistinguishable."17
ater,
will
ttempt
o
com-
plement
nd
complete
his bservation
y
howing
ow uch n art
is
ndeed
rofound;
or
ow,
et
Rosen's
dmonition
tand
n
the
manner
f
half-cadence,
ettingprovisional
lose o
our
present
questioning.
Audrey:
do notknow
what
poetical'
s:
s t honest
n word nd
deed?
Is
t
true
hing?
Touchstone:
o,
truly;
or he
truest
oetry
s the most
eigning;
nd
lovers re
given
o
poetry;
nd what
hey
wear
n
poetry,
may
be
said,
as
lovers,
hey
o
feign.
As
You Like
t,
3.3
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http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp -
8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
10/23
Mozart's
elix
ulpa
85
If hefarewellcene irstevealshis pera'sendencyohovermbig-
uously
etween
ruthnd
llusion-and etweenmotional
roximity
and
ronic
distance--the
econd-acteduction
uet
no. 29)
featuring
Ferrandond
Fiordiligirings
his
undamental
mbiguity
o a shatter-
ingly ersonalmpasse.
he
stage
as
been
etfor his uet
y
he
followingontingencies:
orabella
as
already
allen,
hifting
ramatic
weight
nto
Fiordiligi'sontinuing
esistanceo
Ferrando.
hus,
er-
rando
s
now
doubly
motivatedo
complete
he
eduction
n
order o
wreak
evenge
n
Guglielmo,
ho an
barely
estrainis
beaming
complacencyong noughosympathizeith isdeceived riend.n
addition,
e
havebecome
radually
ware
f
musicalnd
motional
attributeshared
y
Ferrando
nd
Fiordiligi;
oth ave
been
profiled
throughout
he
pera
s
being
more
yrical
nd
more
motionally
nuanced
han
Guglielmo
nd
Dorabella. hese
ualities
re bun-
dantly
resent
n
their
espective
olos
receding
heduet: henear
tragic
athos
f
Fiordiligi's-major
ria,
Per
pieta"
no. 25),
is
matched
y
Ferrando's
ighly
harged
ria,
Tradito,
chernito"
no.
27);bothnumbersepresentdepartureromheprevailinguffa
characterf
he
urrounding
rias ndboth vince reservef
ntro-
spective
epth.
8
One
of he ft-noted
evels f
rony
n
this
pera
s
themore han
ikely
upposition
hat henew
ouples
rebetteruited
for
ach
other hanwere he
ld;
our
growing
warenessf his on-
traryompatibility
dds
special
ension
o
theduet.
Immediately
rior
o the
duet,
iordiligixpresses
he
rather
desperate
ntentiono
run
ff o the
battlefield,
long
with
orabella,
in theirovers'
military
niforms
Ferrando's
niformits
iordiligibetterhan
Guglielmo's,
swe would
xpect y
now).
n this
uise
or
at least
with
errando's
at
on),
Fiordiligi
ommenceshe
duet,
ing-
ing
esolutely
n A
major
fhow
he
will
rave
he
battlefield.he
shiftsnto more
ively
une
when he
magines
ow
her over's
eart
will
well
with
oy.
As her
phrase
adences
n E
major
t
m.
15,
Fer-
rando nters
melodramatically
n
E
minor,
aying
hat e
will
oondie
if
he eaves.
iordiligi
urns is
hort-lived
minor oward
major
with
hewords
Cosa
veggio,
on
tradita,"
nitiatedn a
surprise
naturaln m.21. Thisushersnanallegroonsistingf lternate
statements
f he wo
rotagonists.
errandouts
iordiligi's
irst
phrase
hort,
n which
hedemands
hat e
leave,
y
repeating
er
melodic ine and
continuing
n with
slowly
ising
hrase
hat
peaks
on
Al atm. 35. This
line
matches is
rising
motion
s
he draws is
sword nd asksher to do him nwith t
(somewhat
more
onvincingly
thanwhenthe women skedfor he samefavorn
no.
6).
Fiordiligi
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
11/23
86
TheMusical
uarterly
silences
im nd
begins
series
f
uicker
wo-measure
lternations,
eventuallyoalescingnto heparallelixths fmm. 1-57.
The melodic
eaks
f
both
ocal
parts,
n
the ection rom
m.
21-57,
tart o ndicate
he
progress
f
his attle.
iordiligi's
ove
from
2in m. 21 to G2
in m.
23
expresses
er
ndignation,
hich
is more
r ess
urther
ustained
y
her
F2 in m.
25,
when hecom-
mands
errandoo
eave.
He
appropriates
his
(down
n
octave
ut
supported
nstrumentally
n
her
egister)
nd
lowly
aises
t
to
hisAl
in
m. 35. Her
response,
Taci,"
fails
o match is
A and
lready
ints
ata note f urrender:ow, nsteadf eaving,errandohouldust
be
quiet.
9
Poor
iordiligi
an not ven
ustainhe
G2
of
m. 39
but,
in the
xchanges
hat
ollow,
ssumes
he
position
f
disadvantage,
such
hat he rests
f
hermelodic
ines
lways
all n thedominant
chord
nd re imited
o ts
eventh,,
while errando's
rests
each
theG
of he
underlying
onic hord.
n
mm.
3-54,
Fiordiligi
abors
even
o
get
o
that
,
approaching
t
by
tep
ather
han he
kips
f
mm.
0-50.
It is no
coincidence
hat
he
ings
f he
ncipient
acil-
lation
fher
idelity.Inm.57a new eries f xchangess nitiatedlongwith mod-
ulation
o
A
minor,
nd
the
emporary
riumph
fFerrando
s
put
into
uestion.
utnotfor
ong.
hisnew
dialogue
hows ven
more
pointedly
he
mpending
all f
Fiordiligi.
s Ferrando
atches
Fiordiligi's
of
m.
57
with
is
own n
m.
58,
she scends
o a G
in
m.
62,
asking
imwhat
t s he wants
rom
er.
His
response,
Your
heart
r
my
eath,"
arries
im
o
a sustained
igh
A
in
m.
64.
Fiordiligi's
of
m.
62,
as a
seventh
n the hord
six-five/iv,
resolveselatedlyo F inm.65,matchingerrando'sinthe ame
measure.
here
wasnever
ny
uestion
fher
inging
n
A. Mm.
65-69
present
he
orry
pectacle
f
Fiordiligi
unning
ack ndforth
fretfully
etween
2 and
G-sharpl,
imits
eapingly
rescribed
y
Fer-
rando's
ords
Cedi,
ara."
Musically
peaking,
he
s
quite
iterally
n
his
grips
y
now,
ndfar
e
it from
ere
oincidence
o
supply
he
dramatic
ndication,
t
ust
his
oint
n
the
ction,
hat nstructs
Ferrando
o take
herhand
nd
kiss t
n m.
70,
Fiordiligi
reaks
ut
ofhermoth-likentrapmentith hewordsDeiconsiglio"nd
resolution
fher
F's onto n
E. A seriesfone-measure
xchanges
follows,
n
which
iordiligi
urns errando's
ast
wonotes round-
first,
n
mm.
0-72,
he
invertsis
C-B to
B-C;
next,
n mm.
2-
75,
she
does
the sameto his
E-D-sharp.
Her
expressed
acillation
s
mirrored
y
her
nability
o
escape
from is
pitch
onstellationshile
not
acquiescing
ompletely
o their xact
configurations.
iordiligi's
high
A in m.
74
is
a last
pathetic
it of defiance.
his is
all
that
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
12/23
Mozart's
elix
ulpa
87
remainsf
he
A
she
might
ave ttained
arlier,
herehe
could
have ggressivelyatchedheA's ofFerrando.ow, n tspitiful
isolation,
er
high
A
is but he emblancef
defiance,
ronic
n
that
it arrives
nly
when t
s much oo ate.
Fiordiligi's
seof his
igh
A
is
ike
contrary-to-fact
ondition
xpressed
n
the
ubjunctive
ood:
"Were to
defy ou,
would
ing
his
A."
But he
eduction
s
still ot
omplete.
t
m.
76,
a
larghetto
n
A
major
ommences,
nnounced
y
he
ugmented-sixth
rrivaln V
in mm.
4-75.
Here,
errandoan
again ing
n
Mozart's
ey
f
ove,
ashedid n"Un' aura morosa,"nly owheappearso besinging
withinhe rotic
enumbra
f
arthly
overatherhan bout heoth-
erworldly
tmospherics
f
deal ove.20 is
melodic
ine,
fterts er-
pentine
ourse
n mm.
6-83,
continues ith series f
upward
swells,
irst
n
skips
f third
G-sharp-B,
-D),
then
n
diatonic
steps
D-E-F-sharp-G-sharp-A),
hen
hromatically
E-E-sharp-F-
sharp),
nd
finally
n
diatonic
teps A-B-C-sharp).
here s no
strong
adence
nywhere
n
these ixteen
measures,
s the adence
n
m.
79
falls
n the econd eat ndthe adence
n m.
91 is
retarded
melodically.
ftererrando's
legantly
ensuous
leas, trembling
Fiordiligi
an
only
epeat
he
phrase giusto
iel"
three
imes. hese
repetitions
re
melodicallyovernedy
Ferrando's
sposo"
nd
"amante"
hrases,
n
a
dialogue
ulverized
nto hort
mitative
hrases
one beat
part.
t
m. 93
Ferrandoorces
iordiligi
p
n
register
rom
E
to
F-sharp.
henhe
sings
is
G
natural
n m.
94, however,
he
finds
he
nergy
or n octave
eapup
to an
indignant
2,
on
the
word crudel."
fter er
precedingelpless
mitations,
hisA2
is like
a lastmemoryfher ormerill oremainefiant, ore reflexhan
a
spur
o
furtherction.
And, ndeed,
he
harmony
hanges
nder-
neath
er
the
floorlides utfrom nder
er),
s we
hear he ame
harmony
f
her ast
A2 in m.
74
(the
subjunctive"
).
Her
A
thus
changes
ts
meaning,
ndthe
futility
fher
gesture
s
given
musical
corroboration.
Afterhis limacticast
tand,
iordiligi
ases nto he
adence
at
m.
101,
first
hrough
lesser
eap
from
l
to
F-sharp
,
andthen
by stepwisescentoE2,from hichhedropsoAl, defeated.
The
fourmeasuresrom
7-100
harmonically
rolong
he
dominant
through
he
use
of
bewitching
iminishedeventh
hord
vii7/V)
and a
I
six-fourhord.At
the
harmonic
rrival n V
in
m.
97,
which
is reminiscentf the similar rrivaln m.
75,
the oboe commences
leisurely
elodic
rch,
raveling
rom
2
through
2
anddownto
Al
in m.
101. This line both
reminisces
n
Ferrando'swells f
mm.
86-89
and
recapitulates
hemelodic rchmade
by
the entire
ection
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
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88
TheMusical
uarterly
fromiordiligi'sntrancen m.91 to the ndantetm.101. But t
alsounites he ast tterancesfboth errandond
Fiordiligi
from
mm.
7-101),
making
composite
ine f heir
ndividualities-as
f
Love's wnvoicewere
ffering
ommentn the weet
rogress
f
ts
charges.
It
will
be remembered
hat
he
arghetto
ashad
no
strong
cadence n
A
major.
his ventwas
vidently
eld
n
reserventil
the eduction as
omplete.
ndnot
only
oes he ast
ection,
mm.
91-101,
present
n extendedrive o the adence n
A
major,
ut
the ntireuet, romheC-majorectionn,can be felt opullgrad-
ually
oward
major
C
major
o
A
minoro
A
major).
he cadence
at
m.
101 s the
goal
of
three-stage
eduction
rocess
n
which
musi-
cal
prolongation
irrorshe
prolonged
ut utile efensef
Fiordiligi.
There s no
avoiding
he ventualadence
n
the
happily
atal
ey
f
A
major.
Reviewing
he
progress
f he ntire
uet,
we see thatMozart
chooses o
portray
n extendednd
psychologicallyomplicated
nter-
action.21
his snot heway o show s that uman atures a
mechanically
redictable
ffair,
moral
hat,
t first
lush,
eems
o
be central
o the
tory
f his
pera.
nstead,
ozart
resents
n
intensely
uman ramatic
ituation,
n
which
epth
f
haracter
s
pitted
gainst
strong
motional
orce,
amely
ove.Andwe are
ledonce
more o the
paradoxical
eartlandf
his
pera.
or
what
appears
o
be the
riumph
f ove
s but he
ulminatingtage
f n
extended
use;
oon he
new
ouples,
hose ove
history
asbeen
revealedousat such ength,
ill
goback o theirriginalairings.It wouldeem hat he
arge
uantity
fbeautiful usic
xpended
n
the
wrong
tory
s a diabolicalelebration
f hebasenessfhuman
nature
deceit
made
eautiful),
or o such
uantity
s
allotted
o the
real
tory
the
riginalairs
ndtheir
econciliation).
eauty
eems o
countenance
eceit, r,
more
trongly,
o
be the
very
ountenancef
deceit. he time-honoured
quation
f ruthnd
beauty
asbroad-
ened,
f
not
undered,tself,
nd
that f
beauty
nd llusion
s now
ascendant.
Ferrando:
Cessatedi
scherzar,
giuro
l cielo
. ."
Don
Alfonso:
Ed
io,
giuro
lla terra
. ."
Cosi
an
utte,.1
Hildesheimer
ontemplates
he ssue f
beauty
nd
illusionn
Cosi
fan
tutte ithin he framework
f a
boldly
peculative
nterpretation.
s
a
starting
oint
forhis
meditations,
ildesheimer
ddresses
he emo-
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
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Mozart's
elix
ulpa
89
tionalmbiencefCosi nd enses pervasiveet overtmelan-
choly.22
e locates
he ource
f
this
melancholy
n
the
victory
f
rationalism
ver he
oncept
f deal
ove,
victory
mbodiedn
Don
Alfonso
nd
Despina.
he innocent
onception
f
deal
ove
s
replaced
y
more
own-to-earth,
ational
onception
fhuman
ove,
love
which s more he
fool
fFortunehan
he
hampion
f
Destiny.
The
loss
f his lder otion f ove
s,
sadly,
orever.
ildesheimer
agrees
ith tefan
unze,
whom
e
quotes, egarding
he
farewell
scene
fthe
first
ct:
"Mozart's usic
makes
t
. .
clear
hat
n
this
farewell,fwhich he erzettino10formshe pilogue,heprotago-
nists,
ithout
eing
ware f
t,
are
aking
eave f
omethingtterly
irretrievable."23
lsewhere
n his
remarks
n
Cosi,
Hildesheimer's
language
s
pervaded
ith
mages
f rreversible
oss,
f fall
rom
grace
nto
he Nicht-mehr-Heilen."
ccompanying
his all s
the
almost iabolical
eauty
fMozart's
usic,
iabolical
n
the
ense hat
it unites ove ndthe
mockery
f
Love,
beauty
nddeceit.
Hildeshei-
mer
ven haracterizesozarts
a diabolusxmachina
ho,
n
pre-
sentings with eceitntheguise fbeauty,bservesur eactions
from is ternal
antage
oint.24
ut
whatever
ozart's
ole,
ivine
yet
emonic
or
human nd
ronic),
he deaof he
fall rom
race
s
a
persuasive
nderlying
ause or
he
harmedirof
melancholy
beauty
hat his
pera
reathes.
The theme
xpressed
n
the
ubtitle,
he chool
or
overs,
orks
wellwith
he
opos
f hefall
rom
race
n
the
ense
hat he
overs
mustearn bout ove s a
reality
nd
not
s
a series f
deally
on-
ventionalized
esponses.verything
as
asy
n
Eden;
he
process
f
learning
o ive ntherealworld ntailsn often
ainful
ducation.
No little
rony
s
generated
y
he
fact hatwhile
Alfonso
resumes
o
educate he overs
n
termsfwhat ove
s
not,
hey
earn,
hrough
the ourse f heir
omedy,
ore
boutwhat ove
s. That s
to
say,
they
earn bout ovefirst
and;
he
puppets
f
hefirst
ct
begin
o
pull
heir wn
trings.
On
the
ubject
f
puppets,
would ike
o
ntroduceome
deas
from hat
may
eem n
incongruous
ource,
amely,
rom einrich
vonKleist'sssay,Ober asMarionettentheater."25his ssays one
of hemost
magical ieces
in
hewhole
fGerman
iterature,
etting
out s an innocuous
iscussionbout
uppets
nd
concluding
ith he
grand
osmic
ycle
of the fall
of
man and thereturn o
grace.
One of
the
protagonists
nKleist's
ssay
ellshis
friend,
henarratorf the
essay,
hatmarionettesance more
naturally
hanhuman
beings.
The
narrator,
n
indignant
efender
f
the human
ace,
can
not
bring
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
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90
The
Musical
uarterly
himselfo believe uch noutrageousroposition.is friendxplains
that
he
puppeteer
eed
nly
uide
he
puppet's
enterf
gravity
the
puppet's
soul"),
nd
ts
imbs,
s
pure endulums,
ill
escribe
er-
fectlyraceful
urves. ot so with
hehuman
ancer,
ho s
much
too elf-conscious
ndoftenffectsrom
ithout
hat
omes
aturally
from ithin or he
puppet.
The friendshen rade
ales
llustratingrace
n
the
natural
world nd
the oss
f t
n
human
eings.
he
narrator
ells
f
boy
he
grew p
withwhowas
very raceful
ntil e
suddenly
ecame
aware fhimself,y hancingoobservene ofhisgracefulestures
in
a
mirror.
e
tried
epeatedly
o
mitate
he ame
esture,
ith
o
success.
e
hadfallen rom
race ight
efore
isfriend's
yes.
he
other
rotagonist
hen elates
story
bout
fighting
ear,
who
ould
defeat
hebest uman encers
n
the
rea
because e
parried
ll their
thrustsnd
never
wasfooled
y
heir eints. he bear
would
ot ven
react nless he hrust as
genuine.
o much or uman
ffectation.
The two riends
gree
hat atural
race
s confounded
y
reflection,
that istinctlyumanrait,ndthat he nly rue racestobefound
in
beings xisting
n
the tate fno
knowledge
the
puppet)
rtotal
knowledge
God).
Man's
estiny
ill
e to
attain
omeday
o
total
knowledge
nd
thereby
omplete
he
piral
eading
ack o
grace.
he
power
f
reflections a mixed
lessing,
hen,
hat
irectly
auses fall
from
race
utwithout hich
here
an
be no
passage
o the
higher
planes
f
xistence.his
s
why
he dvent f
human
onsciousness,
brought
n
by
transgression,ay
e seen s
a "felix
culpa.'"26
Analogically,
he haracters
f
Cosi
an
be
seen s
puppets
n
a
state f nnocence.his nnocencesembodiedntheiracit
ssump-
tion
f deal
ove,
heir rust
n
the deaof ove s
predestined
nd
eternal.
hey
eact
ccording
o the onventionalizedotions
ur-
rounding
uch
conception
f
ove,
ikehonor nd
fidelity.27
ut
when
hey
xamine
heir otion f ove oo
closely, y
ctually
ut-
ting
t to
the
est,
hey
ufferfall romheir
eightless,
uppet-like
state nto
he
weightedravity
fhuman onsciousness.
heirs
as
child's
den
nd,
ike
hildren,
hey
were
nly
oo
happy
o et
other
agencies ull he tringsorhem. he men's ransgressionf his
state f
nnocence,
ncompassed
n
the
hameless
eception
f
heir
loverst
the
behest frationalism
in
the
figure
f
Don
Alfonso),
ot
only
rings
bout
he
unpleasant
ealization
hat heir ormer
otions
are
gone
forever,
ut also
opensup
for
hem he
potential
fa more
genuinely
uman ove.28
histransformationrom
n
ideal
yet
unreal-
istic tate o
a
real,
unideal tate
s
attended
y
an
ironic
melancholy,
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
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Mozart's
elix
ulpa
91
notunlike he entimente detect ehind lexanderope's harac-
terization
fMan as the
glory,
est
ndriddle ftheworld."
A
similarort freaction
o
Cosi
s
expressedy
he
neo-Kantian
philosopher
ermann ohen
n
his
book
Die
dramatischedee
n
Mozarts
perntexten
Berlin,
915).
Cohen,
n
developing
theory
f
therole f
Love
n
Mozart's
peras,
s
perplexed
y
Mozart's
eeming
mockery
f
ove
n
Cosi.
t will
not
do,
Cohen
rgues,
o
explain
uch
mockery
y
ppealing
o Rococo omic
astes,
orMozart's
uppets
re
but
he
housings
f mmortal
tatues."29ohen
ndulges
n
a short
digressiononcerninglato'skepticalejection,nPhaedrus,fthe
wisdom
fbooks nd
Shakespeare's
keptical
usings
n the
fficacy
of
fantasy,
etected
y
Cohen
n
the
manner
n
which
hakespeare
sets onventional
ramaticrt n
its
head
n
A
Midsummer
ight's
Dream.
e seesboth lato nd
Shakespeare
s
being
eized
y
"sou-
verane
kepsis"
n
regard
o
their
everaldealisms: ith
lato,
t s
the dealism
f
hought,
ith
hakespeare,
he dealismf
fantasy.
The ethical
tility
fboth he
printed
ork
thought
in
captivity")
andthe rtworkasdeceitfuleauty)sput nto uestion.hese wo
great
men hus
hallenge
heir
dealistic
pirits,
heir aith
n
the
very
endeavors
hey
ivefor.And
why
hould ot
Mozart,
ohen
sks,
all
equally rey
o
such
kepticism?
ohen
ees his
scendancy
f
kepti-
cism s
a
necessarytage
n
thematurationf ne's
dealism,
hich
would therwise
o
unproved,
ever
aving
een
hallenged
nd uc-
cessfully
efended.
ozartould
nly
efeathis
kepticism
ith is
"ever
outhful"
rt.
n
Cosi,
consoling
aith
n
Love
urvives
through
ll theunchaste
ockery
fLove.
This
faith
an be felt
y
anyone
istening
o the
pera.
Mozarthus
mploys
ishumors a
correctivend ubdues
is
kepticism
y howing
hat es
stdoch
vielmehr
chein,
ass lle Liebe
nur
chein
ware."30
nd
f
Cost
provides
schooling
or
Mozart's
dealism,
t s no
less "School
or
Lovers"
n
the
ense hat he haractersf he
pera
earn ne
of
love's
reatest
essons:
hey
earn o
pardon
uman eakness
n
the
beloved.31
hey
ttain
o a
more ealistic
nderstanding
f
love--
butnotbefore
xperiencingdisturbing
pheaval
ftheir
revious
beliefs.32
Cohen's iew
s
related
o
the
deas fHildesheimer
ndKleist
in
that
e, too,
reats
he
pera
s a
passage
rom
aith o
doubt,
fall
from
deal
grace
o the
struggle
f
reality.
ohen locates his
passage
in Mozart
imself,
s a
necessarytage
n the
growth
fhis
idealism,
tempering,
nd therefore
trengthening,tage.
Hildesheimerees the
passage
rom aith o doubt
n
thecharacters' otion
f deal
ove,
a
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
17/23
92 TheMusical
uarterly
transitionhat
teeps
he
pera
n
the
melancholy
erception
f lost
paradise. leist'sssay,houghot pecificallyelatingoCosi,deals
with
he
passage
rom
atural
race
o
human
onsciousness,
gain
with
melancholyeeling
f oss.
In
invoking
he
mythic
eaches
f
human
onsciousness,
hese
ead-
ings
f
the
pera
redit
he
music ith
nearthly
ower:
amely,
he
ability
o
grant umanity
o
puppets.
he
schooling
hat
would each
these
tar-struckarionettes
o feel he
gravity
f
human
eality
s
outlinednthe ibretto,ut t sthenature f hemusichat eads
Hildesheimerrom on Alfonso's
chool freason o the
notion f
fall rom
race
ndthat onvincesohen fthe
pera's
ltimateaith
in
the
power
f ove.33 oth
ritics ear
puppet light
ecome
human
light.
o a certain
egree,
a Ponte's
tory
acilitateshis
transformation
n
the
way
t
presents
he overs.
hey
re
portrayed
initially
s
equal-partnerairs,
s
representatives
f heir ex
rather
than
s
specific
uman
eings;
ery
ittle
ndividuality
s
hinted t
until he rias
midway
n
thefirstct.
But
n the
cenes
we
have
examined, ozart's usic oes eyondhepaintingf ndividualhar-
acteristicsnd
begins
o assume
he
point
fview fthese
uppets,
with he
result
hat
he
llusionhat
efineshem s
puppets
ecomes
a
truthhat
efines
hem s
humans. his onstitutes
schooling
n
themost
rofound
ense: he
oversearn elf-consciousnessnd
begin
to
ive ndbreathe ithinhe ronic
melancholy
ttendant
pon
uch
knowledge.
Thus,
he ibrettournishesozart ith
he
pportunity
o
achievenall-embracingronyvenmore undamentalhan ts ver-
arching
ramatic
rony: y
providing
or n illusionhat hemusic
ill
then ransform
nto
ruth,
he ibretto
ives
Mozart's
usic
pace
enough
o simulate
he
rony
f
human onsciousness.
his
imulation
can be heard
n
the
degree
o
which hemusic eems oth o
identify
with
nd
to mock he haractersn the
tage
to
believe
heir
ruths
andto
expose
hese ruthss
illusions).
he
irony
n
Cosi
s thus f
the
ype
escribed
y
Rosen,
n
irony
fdistance ithout
isdain,
involvementithoutredulity.ozart's usicingersetweenruth
and
llusion,
oth s
participant
ndobserver.
This
type
f
onsciousness
s
n
tself
critique
f he
Enlighten-
ment iew fhuman
atures
espoused
y
Don
Alfonso,
or ow
he
realms f truth ndillusion reno
longer eparable.
No
longer
s
humannature
predictable
ffair,
ubject
o
proof
nd
wager.
he
Enlightenment
iewofhumannaturemakes uch
wagers lausible
because t
is
predicated
n
the
fixity
f reason nd
causality
n human
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
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Mozart's
elix
ulpa
93
affairs.
he
men etDon Alfonsoet he erms
f
he
wager
s
a
dem-
onstrationy xperiment.hisdoesnot onstituteproblemor
them,
orwithinheir
orldview
he
underlying
ssumption
f he
predictability
fhuman ature
nd ts
ubsequent
iability
or
xperi-
mental bservation
s not
n
question.
nstead,
he
dispute
inges
n
a
black ndwhite
pposition:
hemen
wager
n the
predictability
f
thenature f deal
ove;
Alfonso
agers
n the
predictability
f he
nature
freal ove.
n
both
ases,
hemen
roject
heir
oncepts
f
loveonto he
women;
henature f
ovebecomes
he
nature f
woman.n ideal erms, omenrepredictablyaithful,hilen
Alfonso's
ealworld
hey
re
predictably
ickle. ut
n
theworld
os-
ited
y
Mozart's
usic,
ll is both eal nd
deal,
nothing
s
predict-
able,
nd
the imultaneous
egotiation
f deal ndreal s
ironic.
Music
willno
longer
e assimilatednto he
Enlightenment's
primarily
erbal
orld,
ndthedemonstrationf his
ncommensura-
bility
n
Cosi
an
utteomes t
precisely
he imewhen
music tarted
to
be heard
o
assert
tselfs a nonverbal
ounterlanguage,
locus or
both uman
motion
nd
transcendentntimation.
s
an
authorita-
tive oice oruchnonrationaltates semotionalnd rotic ttrac-
tion,
music
rovides
hebreathfreal
human
nvolvement,
et
ts
ability
o do
so
in
Cosi
s
surely
ut
nto elief
y
he
nature f he
librettond
ts
tory.
he
music ould
never
chieve ts
harmed
effectf
dding humanizing
hird
imension
f
he
tory
idnot
establish
two-dimensional
andscape
f
oppositions;
ozart's usic
finds
soulfor he soullesserms"fDa Ponte's
ibretto.34
Although
usic
nd ibretto
rguably
erve
ifferent
orldviews,
theironjunctionrojects uniquemomentn ntellectualndaes-
thetic
istory,
moment
hen
nlightenment
nd
post-Enlighten-
ment
ensibilitiesre
givenmutually
etermining,
nd
mutually
limiting,
rofiles.
o
pursue
his
oint,
onsider
he nteractionf
Mozart's
usic ith he
moral
ropounded
t the
ndof he ibretto.
Presented
s
the umma fDon Alfonso's
hilosophy,
hemoral
tates
that
happy
s the
manwho
akes ll
things
romheir
ood
ides
and
who etshimselfe
guided y
reason
uring
ife's
etbacks.hat
whichmakes thersrywill ea cause f aughteror im, nd n
the
middle
f his
world's hirlwind
e
will
ind
beautiful
erenity."
Reason
s seen
s
the
power
hat nables s to rise
bove he
grim
aspects
f
human
xistence--if
he
puppets
f
Cosi
have fallen rom
their tate
f conventionalized
nnocence
hrough
he
application
f
reason,
tnow behooves hem o
apply
his ame
reason
n
order o
adjust
hemselveso their
resent
tate,
o
acquiesce
o
the
nevitable.
But the musichasbeen
telling
s
throughout
hat here s
no
simple
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
19/23
94
The
Musical
uarterly
standpointpart romur ituatednessnhumanonsciousness,o
standpoint
rom
hich
ne
could
xperience
ntroubled
erenity
nd
simply
augh
t
the
pain
f
others.
f
the
puppets
f hefirst
cthave
truly
chieved
ost-Enlightenment
onsciousness,
he
tate
uggested
by
Alfonso's otto
ill
e rendered
naccessibleo
them
however
vociferouslyhey
will
mouthts
platitude
n
the omic
inale).
What
remainsfter
he
urtainalls
s
not he
motto nd ts
generic
omic
resolution,
ut he
mysterious
nd
disturbing
fterimage
f he
music,
disturbingrecisely
ecauset reacts ith
libretto hose
opestoneis soclearlyhe
product
f n
Enlightenment
uarry.
his
uxtaposi-
tion f
Enlightenment
nd
post-Enlightenment
onsciousnesss the
irreducibleatrixf
Cosi
an
utte.
f
Mozart's usic idnot
dentify
so
deeply
ith
he
haracters'
eelings,
he
whole
hing
ould
ave
remainedn exercise
n
parody
nd
atire
ather
han
symbol
f
the
mystery
f
being
uman. nd
f
Da
Ponte'sibrettoidnot
provide
setting
hat
oregrounds
his
ery
spect
fMozart's
usic,
hemusic's
beauty
ould ot eem o
strangely
onderful,
o
superabundantly
ironic.
Ironic
eauty
s
the
pparition
hat aunts his
pera;
s the
ghost
n
Da Ponte's
machine,
t
s a diffuse
resence,
ften
recipitating
tself
where
east
xpected.
ot
only
s t
perceptible
n
thenumbers
is-
cussed
bove,
ut
t
also urks
n
the
wind
writing
f he
erenade
o.
21,
theviolas f
no.
5,
the
ncongruously
eautifularmonies
n
E
majormarking
he
omic ddressf he
notary
n
the
econd-act
finale,nd nthe anonnA-flat, hich recedeshat cene, ot omentionhat anon's
ventual
through
he
ooking
lass"
modulation
to
E
major.35
etthe
ronic
melancholy
nfiltrating
his
pera
s
not
matterf
pparitional
ncongruity,
f
he
opsy-turvyoings
f ome
incorrigible
oltergeist;
ather,
t hasto
do
with he llusive
ature
f
beauty,
s adumbrated
y
he
ingular
dmixturef
Mozart's
usic nd
Da Ponte's
tory.
he
melancholy
ssociated
ith hefall rom
race
into onsciousnessinds
natural
ssociation
n
beauty-beauty
ow
becomes
hevisible
ndex f
grace: ugitive,ransitory,
ut
glimpse
of paradiseowdiscerneds anillusoryealm orevereyondhe
pale
ofmundane
eality
et
omehow
till rue.
As
Shakespeare's
ouchstone
sserts,
The
truest
oetry
s the
most
eigning."
hroughout
hemusic
f
Cosi,
we
have een hat his
is
Mozart's
ouchstones well.Andthe ronic
onjunction
f ruth
and
illusionsnota
property
fart
lone,
but
represents
donnie f
human
onsciousness. s
the
birth f such
uncertainty
etween
ruth
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
20/23
Mozart's
elix
ulpa
95
and llusion,onsciousnessacks he ransparentindowf heworld
with
lack,
o that
we
may
ee ourselves
ithin.
nd,
s
always
ith
mirrors,
here
s the
danger
f
mixing
he rue
bject
with ts
llusory
image.
he
fighting
ear
fKleist's
arable
asnot o
encumbered;
feint rom
ts
pponent
as
mmediately
ecognized
s a
superfluous
gesture,
ne
requiring
o
parrying
esponse.
et,
Kleist's
ear
will
never nderstand
eauty
f t
cannot
eact o a
feint;
he
pperception
of
beauty
ncludes
he
melancholynowledge
f ts
llusory,ransitory
nature.
This swhy osifan utte asalwaysaunteds,whyt workst
a
profound
evel
without
hebrilliant
ntrigues
nddenouements
f
Figaro
r
the eductive
ower
f Don
Giovanni.he
melancholy
beauty
f ts
music isturbs
hile t
pleases,
inds o referentialoor-
ing
n
a
compelling
ramatic
ituationr
n
thereaffirmationf n
ethical
tatus
uo,
but atherecomes
diffuse
ise n scene or ll
operatic
epresentation
nd
for ll
art,
or
ny
ndeavor
hat
would
find
ruth
n
llusion.
y
hus
utting
he
negotiation
f llusiontself
onstage, osAlays ut hedivineomedynherentnallgreatrt
that eeks
o
explore
he
plight
fhuman
onsciousness.
Finally,
would
ike o
suggest
hat
he ronic
eauty
f
he
music
f
Cosi
touches
n
thedistinctive
haracterfmuch
fMozart's
later
music.
f
t
s Beethoven's
rivilege
o be heard
o show ow hat
which
s
ndividually
uman
may
ecome
ne with he
ranscendently
heroic,
t
s Mozart's
o isten or
he deal romhe
tandpoint
f he
real
to
play
Kant
o
Beethoven's
egel),
o hear oth hemusic f
resignationndthat frevelationndto
discoverhat
hey
re
he
same.This ronicdentificationf
resignation
o thereal ndrevela-
tion
f
he deal
s the
magic
antern
fMozart's
usic,
he
flickering
source
f ts
eductive
eauty.
t is a
conjunction
hat ould
erhaps
only
ind
home t
the rossroads
f he
Enlightenment
nd
the
ge
of
Romanticism.
Generations
f ritics
ave reated
ozart'sastDa Ponte
pera
as a
transgression,
fall rom
he
heights
stablished
y
Le
Nozze
i
Figaro
ndDon
Giovanni.
et,
am
tempted
o
echo
Augustine'sry
offaith:O felixulpa "-andnot east ecause amhere ncouraged
to believe
n
an
illusionf
my
wn,
hat
n
this
pera,
s
in
no
other,
I find
myself
ace o face
withMozart. or
he
music fCosi
an
utte
is the sadironic
mile f one who has
lostthe
garden
f Eden but
learns he
garden
f beautiful
pparition,
newho both
participates
and
observes,
elieves nd
doubts,
ympathizes
nd
mocks. t
is,
I like
to
think,
Mozart's
mile.
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8/10/2019 Mozart's and the Irony of Beauty
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96 TheMusical
uarterly
Notes
I
wish o thank homas
Y. Levinforhis
advice nd
encouragement,
rian
Mohrfor
his
generous
nd
indispensable
ssistance,
nd Michael
P.
Steinberg,
hose
ogent
criticism ad
a
revitalizing
ffectn this
ssay.
1.
Criticism f
this
pera
has often
mphasized
he almost
verweening
oleof the
music.
Hermann
Abert,
n
his classic
tudy
f
Mozart,
otesMozart's Freude m
sinnlich
Sch6nen
n
Melodik nd nstrumentation"s a
singular
haracteristicf
the
entire
pera
W.
A.
Mozart,
ol.
2
[Leipzig:reitkopf
nd
Hirtel,
921], 58).
Anna
Amalie bert ees
n
Cosi
Remusikalisierung
or
Mozart,
returno more
trictly
musicaloncerns.
Die
Opern
ozarts
Wolfenbattel
nd
Ziirich,
970],
9).
Irving
Kolodinven peaksf hemusics the eventhharacterf he perandfindsn
important
lue
o this evelation
n
the rio umber
,
"Unabella
erenata,"
hich
he sees s emblematicf he ntire
pera.
He
goes
n to relate
osi
o Mozart'sere-
nade
utput,
s he relates onGiovanniohis ate
ymphonies,igaro
o his
piano
concertind
Die
Zauberfldte
o his
religious
usic. ee
Irving
olodin,
TheSeventh
Character
fCost an
utte,"
osi
an
utte
RCA
recording
LSC-6146,
968).
See
alsonote
1
for
eter
ivy's
iew f he
musicality
f
Cosi.
2.
Examples
f hese evisionsrediscussedn Klaus
Hortschansky,
Gegen
Unwahrscheinlichkeitnd rivolitat:
ie
Bearbeitungen