Mozart operas are filled with commedia dell’arte stock characters, scenarios and situations that provide the framework for jokes, buffoonery, and just plain silliness! Some famous stock characters of the commedia include a pair of young people suffering from a wildly

Musical tourism to Italy was in full swing by the middle of the 18th century. Italian cities and courts welcomed streams of musicians in search of performing opportunities, official appointments or commissions, and steady jobs. And that included the three

At 12:55 am on 5 December 1791, the singular and unique Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart took his last breath. He had fallen ill in Prague in September 1791, but continued his professional activities, including conducting the premiere of The Magic Flute

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart loved billiards, his pet starling, and food! Food was plentiful in Vienna during Mozart’s time, and a cheap and common meal would have consisted of two large meat dishes with soup, vegetables, bread, and a quarter liter

The composer and tenor Benedikt Schack (1758-1826) was a close friend of Mozart, and he was the first performer of the role of Tamino in The Magic Flute. Schack hailed from the Bohemian provinces of the Austrian Empire, but moved

Let’s start this little series on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his circle of friends with a look at the supposed relationship between Mozart and Beethoven. Biographer Otto Jahn related the following anecdote: “Beethoven… was introduced to Mozart, and played to

In the 21st Century, pop stars—real, imagined or virtual—are a dime a dozen. In 250 years will we see their faces printed on chocolates, dishtowels, coffee cups and all kinds of digital media? I suspect that the great majority will

Should we consider Mozart to be the most positive of composers? In all of his dozens of symphonies, they were all in a major key, with two exceptions and those were both in the same minor key. Mozart’s Symphony No.