Mozart Rarities, Conducted by C. Rousset
The renowned French maestro Christophe Rousset takes to the stage at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence for a special concert of lesser-known works by the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. These Mozart rarities will be performed by the highly regarded Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra with several professional singers at the venue's Zubin Mehta Hall. Alongside excerpts from operatic works that are not staged as frequently as some others Mozart wrote, the concert includes some orchestral pieces that are less heard today in the standard repertoire. As such, this programme of Mozart rarities constitutes an excellent opportunity to explore the genius of the Austrian composer in an uncommonly encountered way.
The programme opens with the overture to Mozart's opera, La finta giardiniera, known in English as The Pretend Garden-Girl. It was first performed on 13 January 1775, written the previous year when the composer was just 18 years of age. Other operatic overtures on the bill include Der Schauspieldirektor, otherwise known as The Impresario, a German-language singspiel which premiered in 1786, and La clemenza di Tito, The Clemency of Titus, a two-act opera seria of 1791.
One-off works also feature on the bill. Mozart's concert aria for a tenor and orchestra, Misero! O sogno… Aure che intorno spiri, K. 431, for example, is part of the programme of rarely performed works. The 1787 concert aria for a bass singer and orchestra, Alcandro, lo confesso… Non so d’onde viene, K. 512, also features in the concert's billing, another fine example of Mozart's skill as a songwriter outside of the operatic tradition of his day. Early works, such as Conservati fedele, K. 23, another concert aria for a mezzo-soprano and orchestra, have also been included. It was written when Mozart was just nine years old, while touring Europe with his father, Leopold, in 1765.
In addition, audience goers can expect lesser-performed arias from some of Mozart's more infrequently staged operas. Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle, K. 538, is on the programme, for example, an aria he wrote for Il re pastore, or The Shepherd King, for a soprano to sing in Act I. It premiered on 23 April 1775 in Salzburg. The tenor aria, Va dal furor portata, K. 21, is also on this impressive programme, a work originally written by Mozart for his 1770 opera seria, Mitridate, re di Ponto, otherwise known as Mithridates, King of Pontus. With so many Mozart rarities on the bill plus a highly skilled conductor, Christophe Rousset, this programme at Florence's Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino marks a superb occasion for all music lovers, not just Mozart's many aficionados.