Mozart’s `Garden Girl’ Has Mad Love, Harnoncourt in Zurich

By Shirley Apthorp
Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) — There is no doubt that “La Finta Giardiniera,” written by the 19-year-old Mozart, is weaker than his mature operas like “Cosi fan Tutte” or “Don Giovanni.” The libretto rambles, the plot is absurd, the arias are full of repeats. So why bother?