Der Schauspieldirektor
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart · libretto by Gottlieb Stephanie · premiered 1786 · at Schönbrunn Palace
Der Schauspieldirektor (The Impresario), K. 486, is a comic singspiel by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, set to a German libretto by Gottlieb Stephanie, an Austrian Schauspieldirektor. Originally, it was written because of "the imperial command" of the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II who had invited 80 guests to a private luncheon. It is regarded as "a parody on the vanity of singers", who argue over status and pay. Mozart, who describes it as "comedy with music" wrote it as his entry in a musical competition which was given a private performance hosted on 7 February 1786 by Joseph II at the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. This competition pitted a German singspiel, presented at one end of the room, against a competing Italian opera, the Italian entry being Antonio Salieri's opera buffa, Prima la musica e poi le parole (First the Music, then the Words), which was then given at the other end of the room. The premiere was followed by the first of three public performances given four days later at the Kärntnertor Theater, Vienna, on 11 February. The autograph manuscript of the opera is preserved in the Morgan Library & Museum.
Text from the Wikipedia article "Der Schauspieldirektor", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the composer of record for this opera.
Text from the Wikipedia article "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Other Operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Don Giovanni (1630)
- Idomeneo (1705)
- Apollo et Hyacinthus (1767)
- Ascanio in Alba (1771)
- Il sogno di Scipione (1772)
- Il re pastore (1775)
- Alexandre et Roxane (1778)
- Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782)