Life of Mozart

——;by the treatment of the details."l'oca del CAIRO, 1783." 55In the first glow of delightat having a new libretto, Mozart set to work composing atonce in Salzburg, and after his return to Vienna he anticipateddifferent scenes that interested him ; but he was soonseized with misgivings that the opera could not be put onthe stage without important alterations. He wrote on thesubject to his father (December 6, 1783) :Only three more airs, and the first act of my opera is finished.Withthe aria buffa, the quartet, and the finale I can safely say I am perfectlysatisfied—in fact, quite delighted. So that I should be sorry to havewritten so much good music in vain, which must be the case unlesssome indispensable alterations are made. Neither you, nor the AbbateVaresco, nor I, reflected that it would have a very bad effect—indeed,would ruin the opera— if neither of the two principal female characterswere to appear on the stage until the last moment, but were to be alwayswandering about on the ramparts or terraces of the tower. One act ofthis might pass muster, but I am sure the audience would not stand asecond. This objection first occurred to me in Linz, and I see no wayout of it but to make some scenes of the second act take place in thefortress camera della fortezza. The scene where Don Pippo gives ordersto bring the goose in might be the room in which Celidora and Lavinaare. Pantea comes in with the goose. Biondello pops out ; they hearDon Pippo coming. In goes Biondello again. This would give anopening for a good quintet, which would be all the more comic becausethe goose sings too. I must confess to you, however, that my onlyreason for not objecting to the whole of the goose business is that twomen of such penetration and judgment as yourself and Varesco seenothing against it. But there would still be time to think of somethingelse. Biondello has only undertaken to make his way into the towerwhether he does it as a sham goose, or by any other trick, makes nodifference at all. I cannot help thinking that many more comic andmore natural scenes might be brought about if Biondello were to remainin human form. For instance, the news that Biondello had committedhimself to the waves in despair, might arrive quite at the beginning ofthe second act, and he might then disguise himself as a Turk, or somethingof the kind, and bring Pantea in as a slave (Moorish, of course).Don Pippo is anxious to purchase a slave for his wife ; and the slavedealerand the Mooress are admitted into the fortress for inspection.This leads to much cajoling and mockery of her husband on the part ofPantea, which would improve the part, for the more comic the opera isthe better. I hope you will explain my opinion fully to the AbbateVaresco, and I must beg him to set to work in earnest. I have workedhard enough in the short time. Indeed, I should have finished the firstact, if I did not require some alterations made in some of the wordsbut I would rather you did not mention this to him at present.