Ravinia 2026 Issue 1

reveals the mechanics of a male-domi- nated society, laying bare the struggles between the sexes. He defends the interests of the servant class and rarely misses an opportunity to uphold the dignity of women. And to reiterate—he advocates for love, compassion, and forgiveness. He has a sharp eye for opportunities to turn prejudices, stereotypes, and pre- suppositions on their heads. In Abduc- tion, Mozart accomplishes this through his most astonishing creation: Pasha Selim. He is at the center of the drama but is musically mute; his speaking part is played by an actor. He is the author’s admonition to the public to look beyond preconceived notions, to discover virtue and dignity where his contemporary Vi- ennese public was disinclined to see it: in other cultures, languages, or religions. To appreciate the full force of Mo- zart’s powerful statement, it is necessary to situate his Viennese audience in its historical context. Vienna’s preeminent position in the world of European music re ects the power it held as the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. It was cos- mopolitan, bustling with trade, immi- gration, and foreign contacts. rough exploration, international commerce, and travelers’ stories, the empire provid- ed ample material for the new taste for exoticism. It excited curiosity and even (sometimes unintentionally), openness to new ideas. Some enlightenment writers picked up on the tales told by missionaries, soldiers, and traders and started to read into them. Perhaps, they conjectured, the conquered were more civilized than the conquerors, and the “savages” and “pagans” more moral than those who wanted to reform them. ey suggested there were ethical lessons to be learned from abroad. None of this was lost on young Mozart when he wrote Abduction . e Ottoman Empire, which stopped at the gates of Vienna, had been an enormous threat. For the Viennese, the Turks were a menacing enemy. Although that was greatly diminished about a hundred years before Mozart was writing, the cultural stereotypes remained. In the theater, fear and loathing o en were mitigated by rendering the Turks insig- ni cant, evil, or simply comic. “Turkish” music (which came to mean anything that sounded foreign or exotic) was fashionable and exploited by Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven. What was highly unusual if not shocking for those seeing this opera/ Singspiel in , was the surprise ending. e hated, feared, and disdained Islamic-Turkish Pasha Selim becomes the moral hero of the story. e reviled “Moslem foreigner” is both ennobled and ennobling. He is the rst in a line of Mozartian characters who “instruct” us in moral imperatives and the meaning of love. Sarastro, at the end of that line, leads e Magic Flute ’s Tamino and Pamina into wisdom, through re and water, so they may rule as a couple (and as equals!). Far more cynically, Don Alfonso “tutors” the two young couples in Così fan tutte , leading them to a less naïve and better-informed choice of life mates. Pasha Selim, like Sarastro, is at rst perceived by the public as an evil and tyrannical authority. But with the passage of time his depth is revealed. e pasha has all of the means and, in the context of his society, the right to force Konstanze to accept his love. But he wants her to truly love him, not simply to submit. She is steadfast in her refusal, explaining that her heart belongs to another. He su ers the pangs of unrequited love, yet, though tempted, he chooses not to use violence to attain his prize. When he discovers the plot to abduct Konstanze, an o ense punishable by death, his rst reaction is outrage. e perpetrator is the Spanish noble- man, Belmonte, the son of his worst enemy, the man who forced him to leave his native country. To punish Belmonte would give him a double satisfaction: to kill his rival in love and to take revenge on his greatest enemy by executing his son—an eye for an eye, a son for his lost happiness. He has the power to avenge him- self, destroy his rival and force himself upon the object of his desires, all of it in accordance with the laws of the land. In a surprise turnabout, he pardons everybody, grants them clemency, and restores their freedom. He becomes the drama’s morally upli ing force. Pasha Selim is, in fact, the mouth- piece for Mozart, whose middle name, Amadeus, translates to an imperative sentence: “Love God.” Mozart’s own imperative? “Love— .” It was a great destiny that Mozart rebelled against his father and the Archbishop of Salzburg, moved to Vienna, and bequeathed the world a monumental and unique legacy. He, and Pasha Selim, recognized—and today teach us about— the imperative of true love, the power of forgiveness, and the luminous quality of magnanimity. © James Conlon , revised January On July 16 and 18 at Ravinia, Morris Robinson (top) and Brenton Ryan portray Osmin and Pedrillo in Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio , as they did in Los Angeles Opera’s 2017 production. RAVINIAMAGAZINE • JULY 11 – JULY 19 , 2026 24 CRAIGT.MATHEW/LAOPERA