The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Mozart and l'impresario

Mozart and l'impresario
Mozart and l'impresario
In May 1856, less than a year after opening, Jacques Offenbach’s Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens mounted a production of Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor entitled L’Impresario. Originally written in 1786 as a play with music consisting of no more than an overture and four numbers, Der Schauspieldirektor posed problems for would-be performers throughout the nineteenth century. Attempts to turn it into a one-act comic opera included adding numbers from Cimarosa’s L’impresario in angustie (1791), and from operas by Dittersdorf and others (1814). Louis Schneider’s solution for Berlin (1845) lengthened the opera by adding in songs and romances from elsewhere in Mozart’s own output. This served as the basis for Offenbach’s version a decade later, when Léon Battu and Ludovic Halévy wrote a completely new libretto to turn the Singspiel into an opéra bouffe for Offenbach’s troupe. L’Impresario enhanced the status of the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens when previously its activities had barely been considered seriously by the press, and also contributed significantly to the enshrinement of Mozart in Paris in his centenary year. Offenbach’s cast, selected from recent Conservatoire graduates, avoided the comic duo who had ensured the troupe’s earlier success in an attempt to sustain an image of the work to equal that of Don Giovanni or Le nozze di Figaro. In complicating the relationship between composer and entrepreneur both on and off the stage, L’Impresario brought Mozart into Offenbach’s theatrical world and invited operatic collusion between what was emerging as high and low art: the reception of Mozart and operetta.
Mozart, Offenbach, schauspieldirktor, impresario, Paris, Vienna
9783487130095
398-411
Olms
Everist, Mark
54ab6966-73b4-4c0e-b218-80b2927eaeb0
Schmusch, Rainer
Michelle, Biget-Mainfroy
Everist, Mark
54ab6966-73b4-4c0e-b218-80b2927eaeb0
Schmusch, Rainer
Michelle, Biget-Mainfroy

Everist, Mark (2006) Mozart and l'impresario. In, Schmusch, Rainer and Michelle, Biget-Mainfroy (eds.) 'L'esprit francais' und die musik europas: entstehung, einfluß und grenzen einer ästhetischen doktrin. Hildesheim, Germany. Olms, pp. 398-411.

Record type: Book Section

Abstract

In May 1856, less than a year after opening, Jacques Offenbach’s Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens mounted a production of Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor entitled L’Impresario. Originally written in 1786 as a play with music consisting of no more than an overture and four numbers, Der Schauspieldirektor posed problems for would-be performers throughout the nineteenth century. Attempts to turn it into a one-act comic opera included adding numbers from Cimarosa’s L’impresario in angustie (1791), and from operas by Dittersdorf and others (1814). Louis Schneider’s solution for Berlin (1845) lengthened the opera by adding in songs and romances from elsewhere in Mozart’s own output. This served as the basis for Offenbach’s version a decade later, when Léon Battu and Ludovic Halévy wrote a completely new libretto to turn the Singspiel into an opéra bouffe for Offenbach’s troupe. L’Impresario enhanced the status of the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens when previously its activities had barely been considered seriously by the press, and also contributed significantly to the enshrinement of Mozart in Paris in his centenary year. Offenbach’s cast, selected from recent Conservatoire graduates, avoided the comic duo who had ensured the troupe’s earlier success in an attempt to sustain an image of the work to equal that of Don Giovanni or Le nozze di Figaro. In complicating the relationship between composer and entrepreneur both on and off the stage, L’Impresario brought Mozart into Offenbach’s theatrical world and invited operatic collusion between what was emerging as high and low art: the reception of Mozart and operetta.

Text
Impresario.pdf - Version of Record
Download (7MB)

More information

Published date: 2006
Keywords: Mozart, Offenbach, schauspieldirktor, impresario, Paris, Vienna

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 68889
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/68889
ISBN: 9783487130095
PURE UUID: 793c8e6b-208e-425e-bc57-e77a3df142b9

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 07 Oct 2009
Last modified: 13 Mar 2024 19:11

Export record

Contributors

Author: Mark Everist
Editor: Rainer Schmusch
Editor: Biget-Mainfroy Michelle

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×