What we do, and why we do it
The music of Mozart is typical of the Classical style – by which we mean the Classical period (accepted as the years between 1750 and 1820), rather than the all-encompassing term ‘classical’ music meaning anything with violins!
His early work is clearly linked with the contrapuntal complexities of the late Baroque era but his innovations led the way and his music is seen to typify the Classical period as a whole. During his short life, Mozart composed symphonies, operas, concertos, sacred vocal music, chamber pieces and works for the piano – the piano concerto in particular owes much of its modern significance to Mozart.
Performances aimed at an authentic reproduction will focus heavily on phrasing the musical passages to the bar line (the inherent structure of Western music), as well as emphasis on the strong beats of a bar being particularly pronounced in contrast to the weaker beats – this variation and contrast reflect the belief that “even-ness” was a violation of the beautiful contours of God’s music. This use of pulsing rhythms and syncopation, particularly when presented in minor keys, reflect strong emotional changes or the creation and release of emotional tension. Light and shade, sound and silence, rhythmic complexity and simplicity and tonal juxtaposition are all typical of this age.
Situation Opera was founded in 2007 by Nick Newland, Robert Jeffery, Marion Wood, Clara Bradbury-Rance and Thomas Simpson to produce operas in their original languages, with an emphasis on original style, phrasing and performance practice. Our first production will be Mozart's Così Fan Tutte and will be on stage in July 2008.
We believe that music should have pulse, rhythm and character. All too often, wonderful modern interpretations of great works lose their beauty through over-zealous use of vibrato and phrases which have no “start”, “middle” or “end”.
In the Eighteenth century, it was considered crass and un-musical to play or sing two consecutive notes equally or identically. We stand by this, and feel that every note is growing, subsiding or moving closer to, or further away from some rhythmic or harmonic point. Light and shade, tension and release, storm and stress – these are the rules we apply when performing.
We hope the audiences will appreciate our approach to performance, and intend to make popular works even more accessible to audiences who would not normally experience them. Each of us comes to Situation Opera with different backgrounds and experiences, and we aim to reflect this in our productions and our approach to music.
Crucially, we feel that young musicians must be given the opportunity to perform great works from the operatic repertoire and we are keen to support them and help them on their way. To this end, we work with some of the most talented singers and orchestral musicians studying in London and around the United Kingdom to produce what we believe to be a unique and exciting experience for our audiences.
