MUS 353 Chapter Notes - Chapter 15: Felix Mendelssohn, Fidelio
Document Summary
The concert overture grew out of the 18th century tradition of performing opera overtures in the concert hall independently of the operas for which they had been written. Mozart wrote an alternate ending to his overture to don giovanni so it could be performed outside the theater. By the early 19th century, then, the overture had emerged as a work of instrumental music in a single movement connected in some way with a known plot. Overtures themselves became increasingly dramatic, none more so than beethoven"s. 3, one of four different overtures beethoven wrote for his opera. Inspired by beethoven"s example, other composers began writing overtures expressly for the concert hall. Unlike beethoven"s leonore overture no. 3, the piece does not recount the drama in brief. Instead, mendelssohn presents a succession of themes representing the play"s main characters. The opening five measures, given entirely to the winds, draw us into the enchanted forest that is the setting for much of the play.
