upon him by the inmates of that home which he had
left nearly two years before filled with the brightest anticipations.
And, indeed, it was little short of triumphant, this greeting and
homage which poured in upon him from father, sister, and friends. In
_their_ eyes, at least, his successes were unshadowed by his failures;
to them he was still the Mozart, the genius amongst musicians, who was
yet to leave his mark upon the roll of fame. But, grateful as he felt
for these proofs of sincere affection and esteem, his aversion to
Salzburg and his duties at the Court remained in full force, and it
was with a new-kindled joy that he set forth once more for Munich, in
November, 1780, to complete and produce the opera which he had been
commissioned to write for the carnival of the following year.

To the realisation of these the first-fruits of his previous sojourn
at Munich Mozart was to owe the establishment of his fame as a
dramatic composer of the first rank. 'Idomeneo,' as the new opera was
called, fulfilled the high expectations which his Munich friends had
formed from the composer's powers. Its reception at the rehearsals
rendered success a certainty, and the Elector, who was present, joined
with the performers in expressing his unqualified approval. At home
the progress of the work was watched with the deepest interest. 'The
universal subject of conversation here,' writes Leopold to his son,
'is your opera.' The first performance took place on January 29, and
as the Archbishop was then staying in Vienna, Leopold and Marianne
journeyed to Munich to witness Wolfgang's triumph. It was a proud and
happy moment for all three, and the enthusiastic applause which shook
the theatre at the close of the performance must have seemed to the
old father, who stood gazing with swimming eyes at the sea of waving
hands around him, to set the seal of greatness upon his son's career.

Mozart was soon, however, to taste the bitterness of his bondage by
receiving orders from the Archbishop to attend him in Vienna. From the
moment of his arrival the arrogant ecclesiastic gave him to understand
that, except when his services were required for his master's
glorification, he would be expected to take his place amongst the
servants of the household, to dine at their table, and to receive the
like treatment and consideration. The indignities to which he was
subjected beneath the Archbishop's roof, however, did not for a time
prevent Mozart from