An analysis of Turkish images in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Zaide and comparison of Peter Sellars and Pierre-Alexandre Jauffret's Zaide productions

Enlightenment and humanist philosophy which led Europe to the French Revolution, also deeply influenced the genius of the 18th century Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. When necessary, Mozart put his art and works against the aristocracy and the palace to defend human rights and to side with freedom and the oppressed. In this context, Mozart's compositions, which he composed more than six hundred works during his thirty-five-year life, clearly show the emphasis on humanism. It is foreseen that during his lifetime, contrary to the works of artists which fueld negative prejudices against Turks, in the final scene of the Zaide, of which Mozart could not complete, Sultan Soliman whom had been described as brutal, cruel and barbarian by Westerners, put forth with a forgiving and tolerant attitude. Additionally, the composer also included Turkish melodies and instruments, on the one hand, trying to convey the power and splendor of the Sultan to the audience, on the other hand, clearly showing the human aspect of the Sultan in the final scene. In the first part of the study, the composing process of Zaide as an opera is researched in detail. Then the characters in Zaide were analyzed. Ottoman culture, pattern of life and the images of Turks are not evaluated under a separate title since they are discussed in detail while analyzing the subject and characters of Zaide. In the second part of the study, Ottoman-Austrian relations between the 16th and 18th centuries are examined, Mehter Music and Alla Turca style's effect on Mozart's art is explained. In the third chapter, the musical analysis of the Turkish motifs used in Zaide is analyzed and the quartet and quintet of Turkish music are examined. Besides, Das Serail and Voltaire's tragedy titled Zaire which is similar to Zaide were evaluated in terms of the parallels between them. In the fourth chapter, performances of Zaide that was performed in Turkey are researched and two different productions of Zaide staged in Europe in the 21st century are compared. In this context, Zaide staged in 2008 by Peter Sellars in France and in 2005 by Pierre-Alexandre Jauffret in Genova are examined, compared and the use of Turkish images in these productions are evaluated. Key words: Mozart, Zaide, Images of Turks, Alla Turca, Orientalism