The Spin Doctor Europadisc's Weekly Column

More than two centuries after his death in December 1791, Mozart’s operas are steadfast centrepieces of the operatic repertoire, from the three Da Ponte operas (Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte) to the Singspiels Die Zauberflöte and Die Entführung and the two mature opera serie, Idomeneo and La clemenza di Tito. All these works – composed in little more than the last decade of his life – have been fortunate on discs, from the pioneering Glyndebourne recordings under Fritz Busch and Vittorio Gui, to later cycles from the likes of Böhm, Mackerras, Gardiner, Jacobs and Nézet-Séguin. Yet beyond these mature masterpieces there lies another operatic Mozart: the child prodigy and the budding genius of his teenage years who, by the time he reached 20, had already amassed an impressive operatic portfolio which – if not yet reaching the heights he scaled from Idomeneo and particularly Figaro onwards – is well worth investigating by the musically inquisitive.

One of the leading champions of these earlier works, from the short three-act Latin intermezzo Apollo et Hyacinthus (composed when Mozart was just eleven!) to the fragmentary Singspiel Zaide of 1779-80, has been the Salzburg-born conductor Leopold Hager. In faithful collaboration with the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra and such great singers as Edith Mathis, Teresa Berganza, Edita Gruberová, Arleen Auger and Peter Schreier, from the mid-1970s to the mid-80s Hager set down accounts of these early works which still have much to commend them, not least for the sheer classiness of the singing. However, it was only when the historically-informed performance brigade started tackling this repertoire that it began to emerge in all its vivid colours. Particularly notable was Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s 1989 recording of the 1772 opera seria Lucio Silla, with a stellar cast of Peter Schreier, Edita Gruberová, Cecilia Bartoli, Yvonne Kenny and Dawn Upshaw, and the musicians of the Concentus musicus of Vienna lending their distinctive timbre to a work that marked a decisive leap forward in the young Mozart’s emotional engagement with his characters.

However, the series of recordings that has recently made a real difference to a fuller appreciation of Mozart’s early operatic endeavours has been the ongoing cycle by The Mozartists on the Signum label under the assured direction of Ian Page. Supported by exceptionally stylish period playing, the youthful casts breathe extraordinary life and expressive sympathy into these works from the pen of the young Mozart. Undoubtedly informed by familiarity with his later works in the genre, as well as the niceties of period ornamentation, there is a marvellous lightness of touch which perfectly suits these early forays onto the musical stage. Filling in discographic gaps caused by the deletion of the old Philips Mozart edition, the recordings released so far range chronologically from the sacred Singspiel Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots (1767) to Zaide (1780), and stylistically from intermezzo and serenata to full-blown opera seria.

Where, then, should listeners new to Mozart’s less familiar operatic works begin their investigation? The earliest works (Die Schuldigkeit and Apollo et Hyacinthus) undoubtedly show early signs of talent, but the 1768 opera buffa La finta semplice (The Pretend Simpleton), composed in the hope of a performance in Vienna that never materialised, is the first work to contain truly individual touches, particularly in Rosina’s lovely Act 2 aria ‘Amoretti, che ascosi que siete’. The young Mozart’s delight in creating descriptive music wherever there’s a chance is abundantly evident. There are also the first examples of the ‘chain finales’ that prove so crucial (dramatically and structurally) in the mature comic operas. From the same year, the Singspiel Bastien und Bastienne is best known for its overture’s thematic anticipation of Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony, but there is much else to enjoy besides, including the comic hocus-pocus aria for Colas, ‘Diggi, daggi, schurry, murry’.

The 1770 opera seria Mitridate, re di Ponto, based on a tragedy by Racine, is the first example of Mozart taking on a libretto of great literary stature (as he would later with Figaro, based on Beaumarchais). There are still signs of relative inexperience, but there are also highly expressive moments, including Sifare’s Act 2 aria ‘Lungi da te, mio bene’ with its obbligato horn solo, and Aspasia’s marvellous Act 3 aria ‘Pallid’ ombre, che scorgete’. Little wonder that, after Mitridate’s first performances at Milan’s Teatro Regio Ducal in December 1770, Mozart was commissioned to provide two more works for the ducal theatre. Neither Il sogno di Scipione (Salzburg, 1771/72) nor Ascanio in Alba (Milan, October 1771) match this promise, but Lucio Silla (Milan, 1772) certainly does, laying the groundwork for Idomeneo of 1780, and especially notable for the quality and imaginative colour of its accompanied recitatives. With some spectacular coloratura arias for the soprano role of Giunia, and a wide-ranging compass for the castrato role of Cecilio, as well as a memorable ciaconna finale, Lucio Silla deserves to be more widely known than it currently is. One could say the same for the 1774 dramma giocoso La finta giardiniera (The Pretend Garden-Maid), commissioned for the Munich Carnival. Despite a rather weak libretto, there are so many unmistakable signs of Mozart’s genius here that it represents the musical (if not dramatic) highpoint of the composer’s pre-Idomeneo stage works, with clear hints of both Figaro and Così.

The two-act serenata Il re pastore (The Shepherd King) of 1775, despite some extremely engaging music, is dramatically limp, while the fragmentary Thamos, König in Egypten and Zaide are really for aficionados and completists (notwithstanding some outstanding music in the latter). Of the later occasional pieces, it is the compact 1786 musical comedy Der Schauspieldirektor (The Impresario) that really fizzes. Composed for performance in the Orangerie at Schloss Schönbrunn, while Mozart was already at work on Figaro, it has been an occasional feature in the opera house and on disc, with two recordings in particular, under Karl Böhm and John Pritchard, crying out for reissue.

For listeners already familiar with the canonical Mozart operas, any of the works discussed here will provide a window onto a fascinating Hinterland, vividly illustrating how the composer gradually came to master operatic pacing, structure, characterisation, emotional engagement and orchestral colour, and absorbing instrumental forms and techniques into his dramatic arsenal, just as his operatic talents were to rub off on his great chamber music, concertos and sacred music. They not only illuminate the pages of his early career, but also demonstrate the amount of valuable experience he already had by the time he created his greatest masterpieces, works which dominate the repertoire to this day.

A few recommended recordings:
La finta semplice (Donath, Berganza, Holl, Rolfe Johnson / Hager) 94374
Lucio Silla (Schreier, Gruberová, Bartoli / Harnoncourt) 2564691264
Mitridate, re di Ponto (Banks, Presson, S Bevan / Page) SIGCD400