Area of Study 1, strand 2 (compulsory): the operas of Mozart, covering recitative and aria, ensembles and the overture, voice types, the Classical orchestra and how music conveys character and drama in works such as Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Die Zauberflote.

What this dot point is asking

The second compulsory strand of Area of Study 1 is the operas of Mozart. AQA wants you to know the conventions of late-eighteenth-century opera as Mozart wrote it: the number types (recitative, aria, ensemble, chorus, overture), the voice types, the Classical orchestra, and above all how the music conveys character and drama. You study published extracts from Mozart operas chosen with your teacher (for example Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni or Die Zauberflote), but Section A can play any Mozart operatic extract, so own the conventions.

Numbers: recitative, aria, ensemble and overture

The rhythm of a Mozart opera comes from the alternation of these numbers: recitative pushes the story forward, then an aria or ensemble pauses to dwell on the emotion the events have produced. Knowing which number type you are hearing is the first thing to establish in any extract.

Voice types and the Classical orchestra

How the music conveys character and drama

This is what AQA most wants to see. Mozart characterises through music: a noble character may sing in a measured, dignified style; a comic servant in quick, patter-like lines; a seducer in smooth, charming melody. The orchestra reacts to the words, painting images, marking entrances and underlining feelings. Tonality carries meaning too, with major keys for warmth or comedy and minor keys or chromaticism for menace, grief or the supernatural. The pacing of recitative against aria, and the layering of voices in ensembles, builds dramatic tension. When you analyse, always link a musical device to a dramatic effect.

Recognising the style by ear

In an unfamiliar extract, listen first for voice plus orchestra and decide the number type (free and speech-like equals recitative; lyrical and regular equals aria; several voices equals ensemble). Then place the sound: Classical orchestra, balanced phrases, functional harmony, clear cadences, homophonic texture. Those features together point to late-eighteenth-century opera, and the elegance and dramatic word-setting point to Mozart.

Try this

Q1. State one difference in rhythm and one difference in function between recitative and aria. [Knowledge recall]

• Cue. Rhythm: recitative is free and speech-like, the aria is regular and lyrical. Function: recitative advances the plot, the aria expresses a character's feeling.

Q2. Give two ways Mozart uses music to convey character or drama. [Short explanation]

• Cue. Any two of: contrasting vocal styles for different character types, the orchestra reacting to or painting the words, major or minor tonality colouring the mood, the pacing of recitative against aria and the layering of voices in ensembles.