Gender Bending Through the Ages: Despina and Dr. Anton Mesmer
>> Sunday, January 25, 2009
Probably one of the funniest scenes in Mozart's hilarious comic opera, Cosi fan tutte, is the finale of Act I when the sisters' maid, Despina, comes out disguised as Dr. Anton Mesmer.
Mesmer, a late 18th century Viennese physician who was an object of ridicule by most of his contemporaries including Mozart and DaPonte, today is considered the father of modern psychology despite the fact that most of his medical research has been debunked and discarded. He was known for his experiments using large magnets in the treatment of human diseases and psychological disorders and is the one who coined the term "animal magnetism". We also get the term "mesmerized" from his name.
3 comments:
How interesting and I thought the video wonderfully fun!
Isn't it a great scene, though? I've sung the role of Despina, and let me tell you she is a hoot-and-a-half! I don't think there is a role that I've enjoyed more!
I loved this scene the first time I saw this opera. When I was first introduced to opera, it was selections from very ponderous operas with long-winded recitatives. It wasn't until I saw Mozart's "Magic Flute" that I realied how fun and enjoyable opera can be!
What I really like about Mozart's comedy operas is that the humor translates so well from his time to ours. I think it's because he was so good at capturing human nature and human foibles. Sometimes when you read or hear something from another time period, the humor is lost becuase it can only be understood in the context of the time in which it was written. Not so with Mozart's comedy.
If I had a wish that could be granted for, say, only a week, it would be that I could have an operatic voice and be able to play some parts in Mozart's operas - especially the roles of Cherubino and Despina.
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