Le nozze di Figaro Opera buffa ("Commedia per musica“) in 4 acts FIRST VERSION
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Le nozze di Figaro Opera buffa ("Commedia per musica“) in 4 acts FIRST VERSION
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Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), K. 492 was apparently written at the special command of Emperor Joseph II. Mozart chose a highly successful French play by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1784) as the model of the plot. The Viennese court poet Lorenzo da Ponte adapted the text to a four-act comic opera (opera buffa). Mozart wrote major parts of the work within just six weeks, apparently in November and December 1785. The premiere was, however, delayed several times and finally took place at the court theater on May 1, 1786.
Mozart conducted the first three productions himself; the piece was given 18 times until December 18, 1786. On August 29, 1789 the opera was revived in Vienna, with a total of 29 performances until February 18, 1791. Since the cast of the court theater had changed, Mozart undertook major revisions, i. a. he wrote two new arias, K. 577 und K. 579, for Adriana Ferrarese del Bene, the new Susanna.
During Mozart’s lifetime, the opera was performed in Italian and German in more than a dozen cities. The enormous success in Prague (1786–1787) secured Mozart the commission to write Don Giovanni, K. 527, the following year.
Did you know that the censorship in Vienna prohibited performances of Beaumarchais' play in Vienna, while they allowed the piece to be printed in German translations? Mozart and Da Ponte took the risk and adapted the plot so that political connotations were avoided.
According to Michael Kelly, the singer of the roles of Bartolo and Basilio at the premier performance of Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492, Mozart vowed to burn the score when, in early 1786, a dispute arose between himself, Antonio Salieri, and Vincenzo Righini as to whose opera was to be performed next. The struggle was finally ended by Emperor Joseph II himself—in favor of Mozart.
Mozart had a particular interest in composing operas. In the 18th century, opera comprised several different traditions, of which only Italian *opera seria* and *opera buffa* had widespread international reach. Mozart was commissioned twice to compose an *opera seria* for Milan, which at the time was still a Habsburg territory on the Italian Peninsula (Mitridate, re di Ponto, K. 87 and Lucio Silla, K. 135); Idomeneo, re di Creta, K. 366 and La clemenza di Tito, K. 621 are later examples of this genre, which was ultimately abandoned around 1800. Three other works (K. 111, K. 126, and K. 208) were festive pieces, so-called serenatas, composed for a single performance on a special occasion.
After 1780, German opera gradually established itself in the German-speaking world. In 1781/82, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, K. 384 was created as part of a short-lived initiative by Emperor Joseph II to promote the German *Singspiel* (with spoken dialogue instead of *secco* recitatives) through what was known as the National Singspiel. Three *opere buffe* based on librettos by the Viennese court poet Lorenzo da Ponte – Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492, Don Giovanni, K. 527, and Così fan tutte, K. 588 – earned Mozart international acclaim. The Magic Flute, K. 620 was written for a successful suburban theater in Vienna, where Emanuel Schikaneder included more serious pieces alongside the usual comic repertoire.
Autograph, 1785
Original = Partitur / Zu / Figaro's Hochzeit / 1. & 2. Act / v. Mozart
Partitur: 164 Bl. (322 beschr. S.)
Autograph, 1785
Figaro's Hochzeit/ dritter und vierter Act von Mozart
Partitur: 139 Bl. (265 beschr. S.)
Autograph, 1786
Bläserparticell: 1 Bl. (2 beschr. S.)