Life of Mozart

50 MOZART AS AN OPERA COMPOSER.It was performed at Weimar on October 24, 1791, with greatsuccess, and afterwards repeated with alterations^^ on otherstages during a considerable time.In Vienna, after the operetta had again been thrice performedin 1797, an experiment was made in 1814 with anincreased adaptation by Stegmeyer, but without lastingsuccess.^^ Within the last few years L. Schneider has madea false step in the publication of the *' Schauspieldirector, orMozart und Schikaneder.''^" Wishing to preserve Mozart'smusic free from foreign contact, he chose out some songs,which were suitably instrumentalised by Taubert, and fittedfairly well into the new piece.^^ But in order to give the plotmore interest he fell into the unpardonable error of makingMozart himself the hero of the opera, composing the "Zauberflöte"under Schikaneder's direction. It is incredible that anyone shouldhave been capable of thus misrepresenting themaster whom the resuscitation of his music was intendedto honour, as a senseless,infatuated coxcomb, contemptibleboth in his obsequious submission to Schikaneder and hisimmoral relations with his sister-in-law, Aloysia Lange. In1856 Mozart's operetta was given in Paris at the BouifesParisiens with great success ; but with what adaptations Iam not aware.Mozart was altogether deceived in his expectation that theItalian opera would not find favour with the public. Josephmade himself acquainted through Salieri with all the mostdistinguished artists whom the latter had heard in Italy(Mosel, Salieri, p. 75), and gave him full power to engagethose he thought fit ; he even made this a special object ofhis own journey through Italy. He thus succeeded in bringingtogether a personnel for opera buffa, which through a longseries of years, with various changes, was unsurpassed in the18Theaterbriefe von Goethe, p. 32.19 Hirsch, Mozart's Schauspieldirector, p. 18.^0 Printed in the German Biihnenalmanach, 1861.21 Besides the Bandlterzett (441 K., Vol. II., p. 362), and the air " Männersuchen stets zu naschen" (433 K., Vol. III., p. 44), the two songs "An Chloe"(524 K.) and " Die betrogene Welt" (474 K.) are also inserted.