Laurel Elisabeth Zeiss, Ph.D. 1999

Advisor: Mark Evan Bonds

Dissertation Title: Accompanied Recitative in Mozart’s Operas: “The chef d’oeuvre of the Composer’s Art”

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Dissertation Abstract:

Orchestrally accompanied recitative occupies a nebulous realm in the world of opera. Lying at the intersection of speech, aria, and instrumental music, it lacks the lyricism of arias; yet it is not as speech-like as simple recitative which is supported solely by the harpsichord and cello. Mozart’s mature operas provide an ideal compendium of the era’s compositional strategies within this hybrid genre. Using eighteenth-century music theory as a springboard, this study examines Mozart’s accompanied recitatives from textual, musical, and dramatic perspectives. 

In contrast to other vocal genres of the time, accompagnato treats the voice and orchestra as essentially equal partners. The instruments “speak” between the singer’s phrases. During an age that consistently criticized instrumental music as “inarticulate” and “meaningless,” the idea that the orchestra can convey “passions even more effectively” than the voice is a bold assertion. This potential for expressive power prompted Rousseau to call accompanied recitative “the chef d’oeuvre of the composer’s art.” Additionally, modulations that are unusual for arias, such as the one Mozart uses to set Osmin’s rage, are commonplace for accompanied recitatives. 

Although analysts have typically treated accompanied recitatives apart from an opera’s arias and ensembles, these passages are an integral part of a work’s dramatic flow and musical expression. Accompagnati often generate musical processes that continue into the subsequent number. Elisions, interjections of recitative into lyrical numbers, and harmonic, thematic and motivic links all blur the boundaries between recitative and arias. Analyzing accompagnato-aria pairs reveals a middleground of musical coherence that stands in-between large-scale tonal plans and motivic unities within individual numbers. Similarly as distinctions between opera seria and opera buffa were collapsing, accompagnato, a genre associated with the elevated serious style, expanded its dramaturgical associations. While in seria works, the texture portrays moments of great distress and high passion, in Mozart’s comedies it acts as a marker or signifier of certain character types, such as the sentimental heroine. Accompanied recitative’s traditional uses may also be subverted to portray moments of deception. In short, the genre of accompagnato challenges, as well as complements, some of our underlying assumptions about operatic form. 

Dr. Zeiss is an Associate Professor of Music History at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. A specialist in Mozart’s operas and music of the eighteenth century, she has spoken at major festivals and events centering on the composer, including the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. Also an accomplished teacher, she was awarded with Baylor’s Outstanding Professor Award in 2013, and in 2015 participated in the Baylor Fellow program, which was designed for faculty who demonstrate excellence and creativity in teaching. Her forthcoming book is titled Engaging Opera.