3,035 words

Berkshire County in Massachusetts consists of the westernmost nine percent of the state that played such an illustrious role in the founding of our nation. Today, that county illustrates the irony confounding much of our nation: that we hear the loudest yelps for diversity among those who live in almost entirely white areas. (more…)

Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841), Stage set for Mozart's "The Magic Flute," 1815, showing the Queen of the Night

1,850 words

Editor’s Note:

I have illustrated this, the third and final Ursus Major piece on Mozart’s operas, with YouTube videos of some of its best music. (more…)

Joseph Lange's unfinished portrait of his brother-in-law, W. A. Mozart

1,734 words

[Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro is the revelation of]  the ideal social structure (an affirmation Edmund Burke). Le Nozze di Figaro is not merely an adaption of Beaumarchais’ play (which Napoleon later stated was the true start of the French Revolution, not the storming of the Bastille: a mere riot). Rather, Apollo infused da Ponte and Mozart, as He once had infused the Pythoness. (more…)

Erwin Schrott as Don Giovanni, Washington National Opera, 2007

1,908 words

Editor’s Note:

The following essay on Mozart’s Don Giovanni is from the Ursus Major website. Any information on its author would be greatly appreciated. (more…)