Mozart's Insert Arias of 1788-1790

[dennis]

Mozart wrote a number of insert (or replacement) arias for operas of other composers. This post will feature those written between 1788 and 1790. A few remarks before we get into the individual arias.

There is no record Mozart was paid for these arias. It is possible he did, but we have no record of any payment. The productions he composed these arias for were not terribly successful. I due baroni and La quacquera spirituosa were complete failures.

So why did Mozart compose these arias? Dexter Edge believes as the Singspiel company had already been disbanded and it was possible the Italian company might be disband also--at the very least commissions for new operas had decreased dramatically--Mozart no doubt wanted to maintain his visibility as a state composer.

K541 "Un bacio di mano"
Intended for Francesco Albertarelli to sing in Anfonsi's Le glosie fortunate, which premiered in Vienna on June 2, 1788, as a pasticcio which also included music by Paul Kürzinger, Cimarosa, Fabrizi, Alessandri, Sarti, Gazzaniga and Bianchi. It was fairly successful with 12 performances in June and July 1788 and then 4 more in June 1789.

According to the cast list given by Otto Michtner, Albertarelli sang the role of Don Pompeo in the opera. However early manuscripts show the aria was intended for the role of "Monsieur Giro" which according to Michtner was sung by Nicolo del Sole. In a score for the production of Le gelosie fortunate in Eszterhaza in June 1789 the aria is given to Monsieur Giro, but was cut from the actual production by Haydn.


K578 "Alma grande e nobil core"
Written for Luisa Villeneuve as replacement aria into Cimarosa's I due baroni (in place of Cimarosa's aria on the same text), which premiered in Vienna on September 6, 1789. I due baroni had only one more performance in Vienna, on September 13, 1789. In addition to Mozart's insert (as Aria #6) is an unattributed aria in F "Che bel piacer" for the Sandrina character sang by Dorothea Bussani (as Nr. 4 1/2).

Edge states Stefan Kunze in NMA used a score in Hessiche Landesbiblioithek in Fulda thought to have come from Mozart's estate. This score probably did not come about until at least 1796, so was not part of Mozart's estate at his death, but a score created at the behest of Constanze Mozart and Nissen to fill gaps in the materials that she sold to André. Edge found the Mozart aria in the original Vienna performing score and it differs from NMA reading in instrumentation, notes, articulation, dynamics and in one case setting of the text. Edge believes this Vienna score was almost certainly copied directly from Mozart's lost autograph, so is more accurate than the secondary copy NMA used. Both the Fulda score and the Vienna parts call for 2 Trumpets, while Mozart's entry in his work catalogue calls for 2 Horns. Edge thinks it more likely Mozart forgot exactly what his instrumentation was when entering the work in his catalogue than a copyist making this mistake.


K582 "Chi se, chi se, qual sia"
Written for Luisa Villeneuve for insert into Martin y Soler's opera Il burbero di buon cuore, revived in Vienna in November 1789. 6 performances in all in this revival. Replaced aria by Martin y Soler on same text with slight rewording.


K583 "Vado, ma dove"
Also written for Luisa Villeneuve for insert into Martin y Soler's opera Il burbero di buon cuore. Replaced aria on same text, as second number of 2nd Act. Martin y Soler's aria was prefaced with simple recitative, but original Vienna performance score of Mozart's Aria is proceeded by an unattributed accompanied recitative of 35 measures beginning with the words "Ahi cosa veggio". Dorothea Link argued the accompanied recitative is Mozart's reworking of Martin y Soler's simple recitative, but Edge (and Laurel Zeiss) show numerous technical flaws appear to rule out Mozart as author. Edge shows the last few measures of the Accompanied Recitative resemble the vocal line in the recitative preceding "Smanie implacabili" in Cosi fan tutte also written for Villeneuve. Edge believes perhaps Villeneuve herself could be considered as author of accompanied recitative.

K.deest Accompanied Recitative for Aria "Quanto e grave il mio tormente"
In the Vienna court theater's original performance score of Guglielmi's opera La quacquera spirituosa is an accompanied recitative beginning with the words "No caro, fa coraggio" prior to an aria by Cimarosa. This accompanied recitative is attributed to Mozart in the score. No other source is known for the accompanied recitative. The opera La quacquera spirtuosa was first given in Vienna on August 13, 1790, and then again 2 days later with substantial cuts. It was a failure and never revived. Actually it is a pasticcio opera, with insertions attributed not only to Cimarosa and Mozart, but Brunetti, Paisiello, Joseph Weigl, Piticchio, Süssmayr and Joseph Haydn. The Cimarosa Aria with the attributed to Mozart accompanied recitative is Nr.20 in the 2nd Act. Unlike the recitative to "Vado, ma dove" there are no musical grounds for doubting this attribution to Mozart.

Dennis Pajot