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When Mozart was 25, he was beginning to stretch his wings as a free agent for the first time in his life. It then that Gottleib Stephanie the Younger approached him with a libretto, and inquired whether he would be willing to turn his hand to opera. As it turned out, that was exactly what Mozart had in mind. What transpired was was a opera that would go down in history. The libretto had already been published by Christoph Friedrickh Bretzner, a merchant from Leipzig, and had already been produced as a “singspiel” in Berlin. It was also a piece that was politically inspired, as Emperor Joseph II had begun working on a treaty with Russia, making strides towards taking over the Ottoman Empire, the opera’s plot contains two Turkish characters.

The Abduction From the Seraglio tickets tell the story of a Spanish nobleman named Belmonte. Belmonte’s betrothed, Constanze, has been captured by along with his servant, Pedrillo, and her English maid Blonde. The brave gentleman has followed the captives to Turkey, where they are being held by their captor Pasha Selim, in his palace. As the story unfolds it appears that Pasha is in love with Constanze and is saddened by her refusal to give her heart to him freely, although by modern standards his methods of persuasion are somewhat lacking in fineness.

Belmonte is able to contact Pedrillo, and together they plot a way to get away from Pashim and the overseer of his estate, Osmin, who has taken the violently resistant Blonde as his. At least he has attempted too, but Blonde’s English sensibilities seem to be undoing him somewhat. As Pedrillo plots with his master to rescue the women, and to free himself from his servitude, Constanze is threatened with torture if she does not consent to the Turk’s proposal. But rescue is under way as Pedrillo puts a sleeping potion in some wine, which he gives to Osmin. But as the opera progresses the story takes a sudden turn for the worst.

Musically the opera was a daring and new adventure for Mozart, as was confirmed by the poet Goethe, who said that it “…knocked everything sideways.” It showed a new depth in Mozart’s music, proving that not only was he a genius, but he was a growing genius as well. It is a magnificent blend of high comedy and touching tragedy. The musical was written in the German Singspiel form, integrating spoken dialogue with the opera. It was a huge success with the public in Vienna, when it premiered on July 16, 1782. Unfortunately, the Emperor at the time, did not have as good an ear for music as might have been hoped and stated the famous words “Too many notes. Just cut a few and it will be perfect.”

But, as many of us know today, The Abduction from the Seraglio is an incredible masterpiece of composition. In the music Mozart made his first attempt at catching the heart and soul of the characters that he was giving expression to. This is a brilliant opera from one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time. Tickets to this opera, which is appearing for a short time during the month of March, at the Civic Opera House in Chicago, are currently available online.

This article was written by Brent Warnken and sponsored by StubHub. StubHub sells The Abduction from the Seraglio tickets as well as tickets for many other kinds of theatrical performances, concerts, sports events, and special events.