It's easy to envy naturally gifted people, but the life of a prodigy isn't always an easy one.
By the time Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was 12 years old, in 1768, he was famous throughout Europe — and famously busy. His father Leopold, himself an accomplished musician, realized early on what he had on his hands, and took Wolfgang on the road when was only 6. Before he reached his 8th birthday, Wolfgang had performed before aristocrats and royalty in Brussels, Paris and London, amazing all who heard him with an artistic maturity that bordered on surreal.
When the young Mozart was 12, he and Leopold made an extended visit to Vienna. On the map, Vienna isn't far from Salzburg, the Mozarts' hometown. Artistically, the two were worlds apart. Many considered Vienna to be the musical capital of the world. By comparison, Salzburg was an artistic backwater.
Not surprisingly, Vienna's movers and shakers welcomed Mozart more readily than its resident musicians did. For members of the royal court, the young genius was simply entertainment. For Vienna's composers, who depended on the rich and powerful for their living, Mozart was unwelcome competition.
At the time — and even now — Vienna's state opera house was one of the highest pinnacles of musical success. So, Leopold set about securing an opera commission for Wolfgang from the Emperor. The result was La finta semplice. Up front, the opera's story is a bit silly. Look deeper, and it reveals itself as an uncannily adept examination of the intrigues and machinations of adult love.
The new drama also set a few real life intrigues in motion. As it turned out, composing the opera was far easier than getting it performed. Rival musicians weren't eager to be upstaged by a preteen composer. There were rumors that the opera was a sham — that Leopold, not Wolfgang, had actually written the piece. The premiere was delayed repeatedly. Finally, Leopold gave up and took his son, and the opera, back to Salzburg, where the score was first performed the following year.
Looking back, Vienna's composers may have been right to worry. Hearing it now, we know that La finta semplice is far below the level of Mozart's later operas — then again, there are few that aren't! Still, it stacks up pretty well to much of the work it was meant to compete with. And the opera is more than a simple curiosity — it would be well worth a listen even if it weren't by music's most precocious 12-year-old.
On World of Opera, host Lisa Simeone brings us La finta semplice from the same town where it made its debut, in a production from the Salzburg Festival.
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