Mozart's a Feminist?! How Mozart Perceived Women Through Opera
Location
Sydnor Performance Hall, Schewel Hall
Access Type
Campus Access Only
Entry Number
106
Start Date
4-5-2023 11:15 AM
End Date
4-5-2023 11:30 AM
College
Lynchburg College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Music
Abstract
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the world’s most treasured composers, utilized ideas of women and gender roles in his operatic compositions that have defined society throughout history. With the intent of improving music pedagogy, the purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of Mozart’s operatic works for the purpose of understanding feminism and gender in his compositions. The particular problems of this study were to (1) to draw correlations between the operatic compositions of Mozart and gender; (2) to investigate the acceptance and historical ramifications Mozart’s gender ideas in his operas; and (3) to examine how Mozart broke or asserted the barriers for women through opera.
Mozart created female characters in his operas with characteristics that are stereotypically or defiantly feminine or girlish. The societal response to the sometimes defiant women in his operas was to perceive their actions as inappropriate and unladylike. Another facet of womanhood back then was the purity and sanctity of the woman. Mozart wrote about how a woman being “adulterous” was seen as dirty but a man doing the same was perceived as true masculinity. The barriers of anti-feminism that existed during Mozart’s time permeated society. Mozart, as a composer and writer, created female characters of feminine and masculine natures, although it was taboo and shunned.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Cynthia Ramsey
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Mozart's a Feminist?! How Mozart Perceived Women Through Opera
Sydnor Performance Hall, Schewel Hall
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the world’s most treasured composers, utilized ideas of women and gender roles in his operatic compositions that have defined society throughout history. With the intent of improving music pedagogy, the purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of Mozart’s operatic works for the purpose of understanding feminism and gender in his compositions. The particular problems of this study were to (1) to draw correlations between the operatic compositions of Mozart and gender; (2) to investigate the acceptance and historical ramifications Mozart’s gender ideas in his operas; and (3) to examine how Mozart broke or asserted the barriers for women through opera.
Mozart created female characters in his operas with characteristics that are stereotypically or defiantly feminine or girlish. The societal response to the sometimes defiant women in his operas was to perceive their actions as inappropriate and unladylike. Another facet of womanhood back then was the purity and sanctity of the woman. Mozart wrote about how a woman being “adulterous” was seen as dirty but a man doing the same was perceived as true masculinity. The barriers of anti-feminism that existed during Mozart’s time permeated society. Mozart, as a composer and writer, created female characters of feminine and masculine natures, although it was taboo and shunned.