No one needs to be an avid listener and follower of classical music to have heard or know this piece. You don't have to be an avid follower of this music to know Mozart's name either. That said, there is a reason why most know the sound of this piece as well as the name of its composer. The overture to The Marriage of Figaro is one of the most familiar and well-known works of classical music of all time. This piece garnered high praise for Mozart and made the opera an instant classic. So where did it all start? How did all this happen? What was it exactly? These are the questions that made an average person like me want to find the answers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay This was a musical work that interested me greatly. Now, I don't listen to much classical music and am by no means an expert on composers. However, Mozart has always been my favorite. Between his career as a composer and his personality, he has always been a fascinating character for me. It has become one of his most recognized pieces that the majority of people are at least somewhat familiar with, even if you are not a fan of classical music. However, before we go any further into the piece, let me tell you a little about Mozart and who he was before writing this musical work. He was born in 1756 as a child protester who wrote his own compositions at the age of six. Mozart's childhood consisted mainly of touring Europe with his sister to show off his (Mozart) young musical talents. It is now 1786, and Mozart has spent his entire life on the move, never managing to find steady work, and just trying to find steady pay (Mozart). Mozart would then team up with librettist Lorenzo De Ponte to create the opera The Marriage of Figaro in six weeks, and Mozart would complete the Overture just two days before the first performance (Tobias). This opera was the sequel, if you like, to a stage comedy by Beaumarchais in 1782 (Tobias). Which was actually quite controversial because it involved servants rebelling against their own masters (Olsson). This of course angered King Louis XIV and the Austrian government who would eventually ban the play from its borders (Tobias). But back to this opera. The first performance took place on May 1, 1786 at the Burgtheater in Vienna (Steinberg, Michael, et al.). And although the show reportedly received good feedback from audiences, it wasn't until this opera went to Prague that it became a smash hit (Steinberg, Michael, et al.). In fact, while Mozart was in Prague, he replied to one of his friends: “Here we only talk about Figaro; nothing is played, blown, sung or whistled but the Figaro; no opera attracts crowds like Le Figaro, it’s always Le Figaro. It is certainly a great honor for me” (Steinberg, Michael, et al.). The show was officially a huge success. Even today, it is widely recognized as one of the greatest operas ever written. The mix of comedy and devastation really drew people in and made them want to know more. The only thing left to say outside the theater was that Mozart had done it again. Another reason why this piece was so popular and is still recognized as a great musical work today is the way it represents the classical period. For starters, it was part of an opera buffa which was one of two types of operas popular at that time. He was addressing the families of the..