Welcome to another edition of Discover Broadway!
We will continue our journey through the wonders of musical theatre. This term, however, I hope to enrich your experience and knowledge of this great art by exploring some behind-the-scenes gurus, underrated performers, and the history of this art.
This time, I wanted to switch things up. After all, gems of musical theatre can be found in any language. A lifetime ago (i.e. my high school days), I used to listen to a French pop radio station, and oftentimes, I would hear numbers from a show called Mozart, l’opéra rock (Mozart, the Rock Opera). Intrigued and the curious person that I am, I gave the entire cast recording a listen, and man, did I ever love the music!
As far as I know, this musical is a much more historically accurate recount of Mozart’s life and work than the famous film, Amadeus. The only mismatches with history were the relationships and why Mozart suddenly began to lose fame and success. The show attributed Mozart’s fall from fame to Antonio Salieri, an Italian court composer for Austrian Emperor Joseph II. While it was true that Salieri resented Mozart, they respected each other—even attended operas together and reviewed each other’s works. Only after two decades after Mozart’s death did rumours spread about Salieri poisoning him out of envy. In the musical, Mozart loses his credibility when his play, The Marriage of Figaro, upsets the Austrian royalty, and the play is banned from Austrian theaters.
These are some of my favourite numbers from show:
The show opens with “Penser l’impossible” (“Think of the Impossible”). With the ascension of a new Archbishop of Salzburg who discourages the arts, the future of the Mozart family becomes a lot gloomier. Mozart’s father, Leopold, requests leave to tour with his seventeen-year-old son and musical prodigy, Wolfgang, but the Archbishop rejects the requests and tells them to quit if they are dissatisfied. Leopold and his daughter, Wolfgang’s older sister Nannerl, lament the state of Salzburg under the new Archbishop, but they realize that life must go on, and Wolfgang must find commission elsewhere while Leopold stays behind, since the family cannot afford to be without work—even if it means working under an unsupportive patron.
I absolutely love “Je dors sur des roses” (“I Sleep on the Roses”), which closes the first act of the musical. It is a beautiful ballad in which Wolfgang reflects on the humiliation, betrayal, and suffering that he had endured, upon realizing how lonely he was and that all doors had closed on him—he decides that he will remain true to his old dreams and aspirations for his musical career, despite who or what stands in his way.
Another number that I adore is “L’assasymphonie” (“The Assassinate Symphony”). This was actually the song that I had heard on the radio on various occasions and propelled me to listen through the entire show. He is conflicted about his options after Wolfgang had completed The Marriage of Figaro: he realized that the Austrian monarchy would never approve of the opera, so he could easily run Wolfgang’s reputation by playing this card to his advantage. However, he acknowledged that Wolfgang’s work was, once again, sublime, and laments his inability to compare with his rival’s talent, despite dedicating himself to his work day in and day out.
Overall, I would recommend this musical as great workout music—it is mostly loud, energetic, and upbeat. I would not recommend treating it as studying music, unless you are accustomed to listening to loud music while cracking down on schoolwork.
Thanks for joining me on another musical adventure! Music is a great way to begin learning a new language, if that is something that you are interested in. And who knows? Perhaps you will find other interesting shows in a foreign language simply by giving one cast recording a chance.
Tune in next time!
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