Mozart's Trembling World

A Journey Through His Operas, Concert Arias, and Art Songs

In Mozart’s musical world, the voice is far more than a vehicle for melody—it is a powerful medium for emotion, character, and drama. But it is also, at times, something more daring: social critique, political provocation, and the tremors of a world on the brink of revolution.

Mozart composed his greatest operatic works against the charged backdrop of Enlightenment Europe, and their impact was felt beyond the concert hall. Le nozze di Figaro, with its servants outwitting their nobleman master, was considered so inflammatory that Emperor Joseph II had banned the source play from the Viennese stage. Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte proved equally unsettling in their unflinching portrayals of power, desire, and human weakness — works that felt revolutionary in 1787 and remain so today.

Performed by soprano Ruoran Ma and baritone Guyon Mingelen, accompanied by pianist Amy Chang, this concert presents a selection of Mozart’s most celebrated opera arias, concert arias, and art songs, including the duet Là ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni, Hai già vinta la causa... Vedrò mentr’io sospiro from Le nozze di Figaro, and Come scoglio from Così fan tutte.

From the theatrical brilliance of the opera stage to the expressive intimacy of the art song, these masterpieces showcase Mozart’s extraordinary understanding of both the human voice and the human heart — and his ability to make music speak truths that polite society would rather leave unspoken. Each work offers a glimpse into the emotions and contradictions of an era in upheaval, told through music that continues to resonate more than two centuries after it was written.

Repertoire:
Overture from Le nozze di Figaro
Porgi amor from Le nozze di Figaro
Hai già vinta la causa... vedrò metr'io sospiro from Le nozze di Figaro
Ch'io mi scordi di te?KV.505
Vado, ma dove? Oh Dei! KV.583
Abendempfindung KV.523
Alma grande e nobi core KV.578

—- Break —-

Overture from Cosi fan tutte
Temerari...Come scoglio from Cosi fan tutte
Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo from Cosi fan tutte
Deh, se piacer mi vuoi from La clemenza di Tito
La ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni
Papagena! Weibchen! Täubchen! Meine Schöne! from Die Zauberflöte

Ruoran Ma - Soprano
Guyon Mingelen - Bariton
Amy Chang - Piano