Mozart: A Life in Letters: A Life in Letters by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

be given at Easter; but the poet 1 was the first tothwart this plan by repeatedly holding us up, claiming that he wanted to make a handful of necessary changes, so that by Easter we had received only two of the revised arias from him. The production was fixed for Whitsuntide, and then for His Majesty’s return from Hungary. But at this point the mask fell.– – –For in the meantime all the local composers, foremost among whom is Gluck, have undermined our plans in their attempts to prevent the opera from making any progress. The singers were incited, the orchestra turned against us, and everything was done to stop the production from going ahead. The singers, who in any case barely know their parts and who include one or two who have to learn everything by ear, were now prevailed upon to say that they were unable to sing their arias, which they had previously heard in our room, approving and applauding them and saying that they were happy with them. The orchestra was to say that it was reluctant to be conducted by a boy etc. and a hundred similar things. Meanwhile some people were putting it about that the music was entirely worthless, while others were claiming that the music did not fit the words and was unmetrical because the boy had insufficient command of Italian.– – –No sooner had I heard this than I demonstrated in the most eminent quarters that Hasse, the father of music, and the great Metastasio 2 had both declared that the slanderers who were spreading this report should go to them and hear out of their own mouths that 30 operas have been performed in Vienna that cannot hold a candle to this boy’s opera, which they both admire to the highest degree. It was now said that it was not the boy but the father who had written it. – – But here too the slanderers were discredited, falling
ab uno extremo ad aliud
3 and ending up looking foolish. I got someone to take down from the shelf a volume of Metastasio’s works, open it at random and give Wolfgang the first aria that fell into his hands: he took up his pen and, without giving itany further thought and with the most amazing speed, wrote the music for it, with several instruments, in the presence of several eminent persons. He did this at the homes of Kapellmeister Bonno, 4 Abbate Metastasio, Hasse, the Duke of Braganza and Prince Kaunitz. Meanwhile another opera has been cast, and since there are no further objections, Wolfgang’s will be given immediately afterwards.– – – A hundred times or more I’ve been on the point of packing up and leaving; and if this opera had been an
opera seria
, I’d have left at once, at the first available opportunity, and laid it at the feet of His Grace: but as it’s an
opera buffa
and, indeed, one that demands certain types of
buffo
characters, I must salvage our honour here, no matter what the cost. The honour of our most gracious prince is also at stake. His Grace has no liars, charlatans and swindlers in his service who with his prior knowledge and gracious permission go to other towns and like conjurors throw dust in people’s eyes; no, they are honest men who to the honour of their prince and their country announce to the world a miracle that God allowed to see the light of day in Salzburg. I owe it to Almighty God to see this through, otherwise I’d be the most thankless of creatures:
and if it were ever my duty to convince the world of this miracle, it is now, when people are ridiculing all that is called a miracle and denying all such miracles
. And so they have to be convinced: and was it not a great joy and a great triumph for me to hear a Voltairean say to me in amazement:
For once in my life I have seen a miracle; it is the first!
But because this miracle is too visible and therefore undeniable, people want to stamp on it:
they are reluctant to let God take the credit for it
; they think that in a matter of years it will sink back to the level of something quite natural and cease to be a divine