MOZART AND THE PRACTICE OF SACRED MUSIC, 1781-91 a ...

service in the orchestra, and it may be in connection with Süssmayr that the theatre hired a
piano from the keyboard builder Anton Walter in the last week of 1791. 75
The significance of these payments lies, of course, in their potential to shed light on
Süssmayr’s activities around the time of Mozart’s last illness. From 3 to 9 December, the
Burgtheater hosted musical productions on four occasions: Paisiello’s La Molinara, including
the anonymous ballet Il Capitaneo Cook alli Ottaiti on the 4 th , 76 another Paisiello opera, I
Zingari in fiera, on the 6 th , Guglielmi’s La bella pescatrice, including Il Capitaneo Cook, on
the 8 th , and Werthes’ play, Bayard, with the same ballet on the 9th. 77 Over at the
Kärnterthortheater, one could hear Dutillieu’s opera Il trionfo d’amore on the 3 rd , the play Die
Sonnenjungfrau with incidental music by Weigl on the 4 th , and Benda’s melodrama Medea on
the 5 th . Two weeks later, the Burgtheater produced I Zingari in fiera together with Capuzzi’s
ballet Ines de Castro on the 27 th , a German play, Die falschen Vertraulichkeiten combined with
the same ballet on the 28 th , and La bella pescatrice on the 29 th . At the Kärnterthortheater, one
could hear Nasolini’s Teseo a Stige on the 26 th , La bella pescatrice on the 28 th , and Tritto’s Le
astuzie in amore with Ines de Castro on the 30 th . 78 We do not know which of these
performances involved Süssmayr, but perhaps he played in I Zingari in Fiera or La bella
pescatrice – the only operas featured in both weeks. The fact that Süssmayr received 23 fl in
the early part of the month but only 10 fl in the last week suggests he was involved more
intensively at the Burgtheater during Mozart’s last illness or soon afterwards.
75 “dem Walter Anton, für ein hergelichenes forte piano...18. [fl]“; A-Wn, Theatersammlung, M 4000.
76 The composer may have been Pierre Dutillieu, who was hired as “Balletmusick Compositeur” at the
Kärntnerthortheater from 1 November 1791. What may be the original parts for this ballet survive in A-Wn,
Mus. Hs. 37369, and an arrangement for violin and keyboard from the Kaisersammlung is in A-Wn, Mus. Hs.
11021. The composer is not named, although the title page of the parts does mention the name of Giulio
Giuliani, the newly-hired director of the ballet orchestra at the Kärntnerthortheater. The ballet was originally
produced for the nameday of Leopold II on 15 November 1791; see Rice, “Emperor and Impresario”, 307-8.
77 The performances on the remaining nights of the week were German-language plays without music.
78 Link, The National Court Theatre, 180-83.
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