The Impresario, K. 486: Overture

Composer: MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus
  • Der Schauspieldirektor is a one-act comic opera by Mozart which was first performed in 1786 in the Orangery at Schloss Schönbrunn (an imperial residence of the Habsburgs), along with a piece by Salieri.1
    • Both the Mozart and Salieri pieces were commissioned for a state visit from the Governor-General of the Austrian Netherlands.2
  • The Impresario is a lighthearted comedy about an impresario auditioning rival sopranos, who battle for top billing by showing off theirs chops in virtuoso arias.3
  • The librettist (who also played the Impresario in the premiere) was Gottlieb Stephanie, who also wrote the libretto for The Abduction from the Seraglio4

Sources

  1. Cliff Eisen, and Stanley Sadie, “Mozart, (Johann Chrysostom) Wolfgang Amadeus,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed November 19, 2019,  https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-6002278233.
  2. Ibid.
  3.  Julian Rushton, “Schauspieldirektor, Der,” Grove Music Online (2002), accessed November 27, 2019, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-5000005236
  4. Ibid.

Cut IDs

45039