Franz Xaver Gerl

• 1. The First Sarastro

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  Franz Xaver Gerl sang Sarastro at the premiere of Mozart's The Magic Flute in 1791. Mozart composed the part for Gerl's particular voice. Peter Branscombe, the scholar, observed that those low notes have been "the despair of many a bass singer since." Before any of that, Gerl had been a university student. His wife would also take the stage in that premiere, cast in the role of Papagena.

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• 2. Logic, Physics, and Bass

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  Gerl was born in 1764 in Andorf, a town then part of Bavaria and incorporated into Austria in 1780. As a child, he sang as a chorister in Salzburg. According to the New Grove dictionary, he was probably a pupil of Leopold Mozart, the composer's father and one of Salzburg's music teachers. At the University of Salzburg, Gerl did not study music. He studied logic and physics. His professional singing career began in 1785, when he joined the theatrical company of Ludwig Schmidt. Within two years, he had moved to a more prominent outfit: the company run by Emanuel Schikaneder. Within Schikaneder's company, Gerl sang the demanding role of Osmin in Mozart's opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail. He also contributed to the troupe as a composer.

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• 3. Operas by Committee

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  Schikaneder's troupe had developed a production method unusual for its time. New Singspiele would be assembled by several composers working in parallel, each contributing separate portions. The goal was speed. Gerl participated in this process. He may have been the composer of one aria in particular: "Ein Weib ist das herrlichste Ding." The other candidate was Benedikt Schack, another singer-composer in the troupe. The question of which man composed it remains unresolved. Mozart chose the melody for a set of eight piano variations, catalogued as K. 613. Mozart's involvement with the troupe grew steadily. He came to participate more directly in Schikaneder's projects, culminating in an opera with a libretto written by Schikaneder himself.

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• 4. The Magic Flute Circle

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  Friedrich Ludwig Schröder, described by Branscombe as "the greatest actor-manager of his age," came to Vienna in 1791. He was specifically told not to miss Schack and Gerl performing at Schikaneder's theater. Gerl's wife in that premiere was the soprano Barbara Reisinger, born in 1770. She and Gerl had married on the 2nd of September 1789. Gerl kept the role of Sarastro in his repertoire through 1792. He left Schikaneder's troupe in 1793. Barbara went with him when he moved on.

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• 5. Brno and Mannheim

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  Brno came first in Gerl's post-Vienna career, followed by Mannheim. Barbara Reisinger died there in 1806, shortly after giving birth to their second child. Gerl kept working, retiring in 1826. He died in Mannheim in 1827.

  Peter Branscombe, in the New Grove, noted the striking quality of the music Mozart wrote for Gerl. One detail from the Vienna years also remains uncertain. Gerl may have been present at a rehearsal of Mozart's Requiem, held on the day before the composer died. The fullest account of that rehearsal belongs to Benedikt Schack, his colleague from Schikaneder's troupe.

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