21 Oct 2007
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Repertoire
Music composed by W. A. Mozart. Libretto by Gottlieb Stephanie the younger.
First Performance: 7 February 1786, Schönbrunn, Orangery
| Characters: | |
| Frank, an impressario | Speaking role |
| Eiler, a banker | Speaking role |
| Buff, an actor | Speaking role |
| Herz, an actor | Speaking role |
| Madame Pfeil, an actress | Speaking role |
| Madame Krone, an actress | Speaking role |
| Madame Vogelsang, an actress | Speaking role |
| Vogelsang, a singer | Tenor |
| Madame Herz, a singer | Soprano |
| Mademoiselle Silberklang, a singer | Soprano |
Setting: an impresario’s room in Salzburg, 1786.
Synopsis:
Gottlieb Stephanie, who had previously collaborated with Mozart in Entführung aus dem Serail, portrays the misadventures of the entrepreneur Frank who must put together a company of actors and singers while dealing with their whims, rivalries and pretensions of exorbitant remuneration. The economic problems are resolved thanks to banker Eiler’s intervention in exchange for Frank pretending to engage his lover, Madams Pfeil. The musical passages are in the second part of the job, when Frank begins the auditions of the singers. Madams Herz sings an air ranging from an initially pathetic and sentimental character to a bright conclusion, rich in virtuosities. The following air tests Mlle Silberklang. In the trio “Ich bin die erste Sängerin” the two ambitious singers confront him on who the prima donna will be, while Monsieur Vogelsang attempts to reconcile matters. The singers determine that art can thrive with all the personal ambition only through the peaceable cooperation of all their strengths.
