It’s not often that you find Gluck, Mozart and Haydn on the same bill in opera.
But this weekend, David Ward, head of the UA Opera Theatre, is doing just that, combining intermezzos from each of the composers onto one “Evening of Intermezzi.”
Intermezzos are like opera’s amuse-bouche — the bite-sized morsels you get between main courses. Only, in opera, they are usually delivered with the intent of getting laughs. They were the precursors to opera buffa, the comic opera that fueled Mozart’s imagination and career.
Ward has penned the English dialogue for two of the three pieces — Gluck’s “L’Ivrogne corrigé” (meaning “the reformed drunkard”), sung in French and Mozart’s “Der Schauspieldirektor” (“the impresario”), to be sung in German.
“I’m a comic, so I go for the funny,” said Ward, who in his first year at the UA last year directed the students in productions of Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus” and Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” both known for their comedy.
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Ward has put together three casts to sing the three intermezzos. In addition to the Gluck and Mozart, the students will perform Haydn’s “La canterina” (meaning “the songstress” or “the diva”), to be sung in Italian with Italian recitative.
The Haydn might prove to be the most interesting piece of the evening, Ward said.
Haydn is best known for his symphonic music, but he regularly composed operas as part of his job in the 1770s and 1780s with Hungarian Prince Nikolaus Esterházy.
“But he didn’t know how to put it together,” Ward said. “He lacked the theatrical brilliance of Mozart.”
