Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756-1791, was born in Salzburg, Austria, to Leopold and Anna Maria Mozart. His journey through life was brief but productive, resulting in some of the greatest musical works of the Western world.
Leopold, Wolfgang's father, was a violinist and composer at the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg. Realizing his son's talent, Leopold devoted himself to managing his son's career. Wolfgang and his older sister Maria Anna spent their childhoods touring and performing for the well-to-do.
Wolfgang was trained systematically from infancy by his father. Unlike most musicians, he did not struggle to compose: he worked out details in his mind and transferred the fully conceived work to paper. Mozart was reputed to joke, converse and play billiards while notating his pieces.
At four years old Mozart was playing harpsichord and, by five, composing keyboard pieces—pieces still played by pianists today. By age six he was a keyboard virtuoso, accomplished violinist and adept improviser. He wrote a symphony at age eight. Piano concertos and an oratorio were penned at the age of eleven. An Italian opera appeared when only twelve. Finally, as a fourteen year old, his operas were staged at Milan and he was knighted by the Pope.
Here's a taste of Mozart's music performed by the Leeward Coast Guitars:
Les petits riens K. 299b: Gavotte (1778) | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Adulthood
Beginning in 1773, Mozart worked for Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colored at Salzburg. It was a productive time for him, resulting in creation of symphonies, sonatas, string quartets, masses, serenades, concerti and opera.
Despite being productive musically, Mozart was unhappy with his treatment and wages under the Prince-Archbishop. When he resigned in 1778, the archbishop banned him from performing for nobles and expelled him from court with "a box on the ear and a kick to his backside."
Vienna
In 1781 Mozart settled in Vienna and was successful as a pianist, composer and teacher. He married Constanze Weber (1762-1842), the younger sister of his first love, Aloysia Weber, and a union his father was not fond of. She bore him six children, two of whom survived past infancy. The young family lived extravagantly, spending every cent of his income. Mozart was not talented at business and no longer had his father to manage his career. By the late 1780s he was struggling financially, heavily in debt, and suffering from kidney disease.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1789) | Dota Stock, (1760–1832) | Mozarteum
Although Mozart was a legend—Haydn called him the "greatest composer of their day"—he never acquired a lasting patron or steady income. Moreover, his musical superiority caused bitter opposition from lesser but established composers. Finally, Mozart's innovative music was ahead of its time making it difficult for all but the most sophisticated audiences to accept.
Mozart lived his greatest moments in the inner world of his music. Unlike Beethoven, his music was not autobiographical: no trace of the struggles and tragedies of his life are apparent in his works. Instead, his adulthood works were innovative, profound and triumphant.
Mozart Clan | Johann Nepomuk della Croce, 1736-1819 | Maria Anna (big hair), Wolfgang and Leopold. Mother's portrait is on the wall. | Mozarteum
Mozart Leaves the Building
His final work, Requiem (mass for the dead), was commissioned by a count for his deceased wife. Mozart, living in ill-health and poverty, thought the Requiem an omen of his own death and was reluctant to finish it. Mozart died December 5, 1791 at thirty-five, leaving the Requiem unfinished. His opera, The Magic Flute, was gaining popularity and could have reversed his streak of bad luck. Mozart was buried in a common grave and, according to legend, without a song.
Following his death, Mozart's reputation and popularity rose sharply. His widow, Constanze, possessed substantial business skills: received a pension from the emperor, organized profitable memorial concerts, and published the music of her deceased husband. These efforts made Constanze a wealthy and financially secure woman for the remaining five decades of her life.
Constanze Mozart | Hans Hansen, c.1802 | Mozarteum
Don Giovanni
Mozart was a prolific composer and excelled in every musical genre he tried, including opera. Opera—adramaticwork inoneormoreacts, set tomusicforsingers and instrumentalists—was all the rage during the eighteenth century, so a hit production meant wealth, opportunity and fame. Mozart's Don Giovanni is one of his successes, although most of that success was posthumous.
Don Giovanni Score | Don Juan (Spanish), was written on the autograph manuscript instead of Don Giovanni | Bibliothèque nationale de France
Don Giovanni is an Italian opera in two acts with libretto (script) by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Mozart was an Austrian, but he had been composing in the Italian style since the age of twelve. Operas were written as entertainment for the high born and educated of Vienna, so use of Italian in a German speaking country was both understood and expected by audiences.
The Story
The libretto is based on the legend of Don Juan, a dashing character, arrogant fool and notorious womanizer. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787. Da Ponte's libretto was billed as dramma giocoso, a mixing of serious and comic action. Mozart entered the work into his catalog as an opera buffa (comic opera). Although sometimes classified as comic, it blends comedy, melodrama and supernatural elements.
Scoring
Don Giovanni is scored for double woodwinds, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones (alto, tenor, bass), timpani, basso continuo for recitativo, and a full string section. The main character and singers are:
Don Giovanni, baritone, young and licentious noble
Leporello, bass, Don Giovanni's servant and wing man
Commandant, bass, Donna Anna's father
Donna Anna, soprano, Commandant's daughter, engaged to Don Ottavio
Don Ottavio, tenor, Donna Anna's fiancée
Donna Elvira, soprano, a lover abandoned by Don Giovanni
Masetto, bass, a peasant
Zerlina, soprano, Masetto's fiancée
Chorus: peasants, servants, young women, musicians, demons
We'll listen to selected sections of the first act. The video has subtitles, so listing a translation of the lyrics here is redundant. However, you can study a transcription of the lyrics here.
As the curtain opens, the orchestra plays a dramatic overture to set the mood of the opening scene. It is late evening outside the Commandant's palace in Seville. Don Giovanni, in disguise, has snuck into Donna Anna's room for a midnight rendezvous. His wing man, Leporello, paces back and forth, standing guard. The situation escalates and Donna Anna screams. Her father, the Commandant, comes to her assistance. He and Don Giovanni shuffle and the Commandant is mortally wounded from Don Giovanni's dagger. Don Giovanni bolts with Leporello.
Don Giovanni is unrepentant and makes a move on a woman on the street. To his chagrin, the woman is actually his jilted lover, Donna Elvira. She's enraged at his behavior and, after a little fancy dancing, Don Giovanni escapes again.
Zerlina, a village girl, is engaged to a farmer, Masetto. Don Giovanni tries to seduce Zerlina on her wedding day and they sing a beautiful duet, La ci darem la mano. After the duet, Donna Anna, Don Ottavio (Donna Anna's fiancée) and Donna Elvira arrive. The three expose Don Giovanni as an evil doer. Again, he survives and bolts.
Listening Selections
Listen to the Overture and Act 1 introduction scene: Leporello standing guard, Don Giovanni struggling with Donna Anna, the Commandant dueling with Don Giovanni and the Commandant's death (0:00 to 11:55). Next, forward the video to 44:35 and listen to the duet between Don Giovanni and Zerlina, Là ci darem la mano (There you will give me your hand). Of course, you can enjoy the entire opera if you wish.
Don Giovanni (1787) | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Vocabulary
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, opera, dramma giocoso, opera buffa, libretto, Don Giovanni, Don Juan, Requiem
Austria
Adulthood 
