y
to console his little _protege_ for his disappointment at Vienna. It is
of course an extraordinary work when the composer's age is taken into
account, but intrinsically differs little from the thousand and one
comic operas of the period, Mozart's first German opera, 'Bastien und
Bastienne,' though written after 'La Finta Semplice,' was performed
before it. It was given in 1768 in a private theatre belonging to Dr.
Anton Meszmer, a rich Viennese bourgeois. It follows the lines of
Miller's Singspiele closely, but shows more originality, especially in
the orchestration, than 'La Finta Semplice.' The plot of the little work
is an imitation of Rousseau's 'Devin du Village,' telling of the
quarrels of a rustic couple, and their reconciliation through the good
offices of a travelling conjurer. It was significant that the Italian
and German schools should be respectively represented in the two infant
works of the man who was afterwards to fuse the special beauties of each
in works of immortal loveliness. Mozart's next four operas were, for the
most part, hastily written--'Mitridate, Re di Ponto' (1770) and 'Lucio
Silla' (1775) for Milan, "La Finta Giardiniera' (1775) for Munich, and
'Il Re Pastore' (1775) for Salzburg. They adhere pretty closely to the
conventional forms of the day, and, in spite of the beauty of many of
the airs, can scarcely be said to contain much evidence of Mozart's
incomparable genius. In 1778 the young composer visited Paris, where he
stayed for several months. This period may be looked upon as the
turning-point in his operatic career. In Paris he heard the operas of
Gluck and Gretry, besides those of the Italian composers, such as
Piccinni and Sacchini, whose best works were written for the French
stage. He studied their scores carefully, and from them he learnt the
principles of orchestration, which he was afterwards to turn to such
account in 'Don Giovanni' and 'Die Zauberfloete,' The result of his
studies was plainly visible in the first work which he produced after
his return to Germany, 'Idomeneo.' This was written for the Court
Theatre at Munich, and was performed for the first time on the 29th of
January, 1781. The libretto, by the Abbe Giambattista Varesco, was
modelled upon an earlier French work which had already been set to music
by Campra. Idomeneo, King of Crete, on his way home from the siege of
Troy, is overtaken by a terrific storm. In despair of his life, he vows
that, should he reach