K. 51, La Finta Semplice, Marito io vorrei

As I have said, I have been chewing on Mozart's Opera La Finta Semplice for a spell. I'm trying focus. Trying to figure out what I want to write. "Can I devote enough words to one blog?" I've asked my self. No. So, I'll hit a few chunks here and there. A La Finta Semplice series is a'coming. This is a crucial benchmark work in Mozart's life. 

La Finta Semplice. 'The pretend simpleton.' Why pretend to be a simpleton? Wouldn't you want people to know you're smart? Hmmm. Children, until a certain age, are obliviously honest. They spit out whatever they're are thinking and feeling. And, they often surprise adults with their comprehension. Of course, this honesty makes it hard to get away with things. And, it also heaps expectations. I know if my kids are capable of something, I expect them to do it. Then, they turn the age where they learn to 'play dumb.' Oh, I see this tactic used all the time from the boys at the residency where I work. "Ah... Well... I didn't know that we weren't supposed... yada." Not buying it. Not buying it.

I can hardly blame them. I've done it. I still do. Even this blog is a shell of me playing dumb. From time-to-time I tell my lazy self, these post don't need to be perfect. I've out right declared that I'm a troglodyte. They expect me to be stupid. "So what, if I get something wrong?" 

And, poor Mozart. He laid all his talent aces on the table at a very early age. He lost any chance of being the pretend simpleton. And, he may have never had to have worried about it up to this work. A gob of effort poured into a full length opera. Never to be performed in the city having requested it. Maybe only a patronizing pity performance was later requested from the Archbishop a year later.

So, why pretend to be simple? I think sometimes, it simply makes life easier. Even in the realm of love. That's why I chose the aria marito io vorrei. A key motivator of simplicity (not the right use of the word, but I'm using it anyway).  Sung by Giacinta, this aria speaks of a woman who wants love. She has recently had a bit of a spat with her love. Realizing the work a relationship takes, she sings with a longing voice. A pining voice. A voice we have all bellyached within our lives. "I really really want something. I just don't want to deal with all the strife it takes to get it." Giacinta's actual words, "I want a husband, but without the work. To have him if he suits me, to leave him if he is troublesome... I just want him to do whatever I want him to do." No one today in our selfless society says such babble. 

And, we too want our life goals to come easy. I want my work accepted by the masses after the first draft. I want to create what I want to create, without catering or even seeking what others might be interested in. But, life is not that easy. I'm not that great that I can just whip out something without work and get others to like it. Even if I was that talented, it wouldn't matter. Mozart was, but he still couldn't get everyone to swoon over all his stuff. 

Sure, you can tell me we need to follow our happy-hippy dreams, but we can't expect them to come easy. And, we can't expect to be entitled to them. (I'm yelling at myself about this all the time.) It is hard. Most dreams won't come true by playing dumb. And so, I'm reminded of something I wrote from my book Schizic.

K. 45, Symphony No. 7

Mozart fled to avoid the Viennese smallpox epidemic, but that didn't turn out so well. He got it anyway. Then, he returned back to Vienna. And, this is where/when he wrote K. 45. As I have mentioned, I am also chewing on La Finta Semplice, and it is interesting to note that this symphony is used for the overture.

The first movement chugs out with the-little-engine-that-could aggressiveness. As if to say, "This is tough but I'm going to gnash my teeth and push through this with positivity and eagerness." It toots exhausted here and there, but keeps pressing on. The 2nd movement, is that of exhaustion, but not despair. "I need to rest," it says. Some places sigh darker. The 3rd strikes like a slap in the face, marching, pressing on with new sets of motivation. It gets exhausted again once more, but slaps back some motivation and continues. The 4th chunk, is a looking back of all the trails, as it stands on top the hill and shouting, "Hey world. I did it. So there!"

I wonder which movement would best have illustrated Mozart's mood during that point in his life. I'd go with the 3rd, maybe the 2nd. His world was starting to make its demands. It needed something in return. Archbishop Schrattenbach was no longer bearing patiently with Leopold's absence. Critics and skeptics scowled. Mozart was growing pass the cute stage. The novelty of watching a kid do tricks was wearing, yet he wasn't old enough to be taken serious as a 'real' musician. This trip did not end with a 4th movement victory proclamation.  But, with broken promises, courts complains and tort tirades. (Will elaborate more when I post on La Finta Semplice.)

Ultimately, this trip did not go according to plan. And, all those involved didn't take too kindly to the Mozarts after that lot. That's life. Generally people will tolerate failure, only if they still get something from you.  And, they love seeing failure from those who rub them the wrong way. Mozart was losing his cash-calf status.