Mozart in Italy

• 1. Motivations For Travel

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  In October 1769, a thirteen-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart stood at the threshold of a life-changing decision. His father Leopold had spent years cultivating his son's talents across Europe, yet Italy remained the final, crucial destination for any serious composer of the eighteenth century. The Italian peninsula was not merely a collection of cities but the very cradle of opera and church music. Leopold believed that immersion in Venice, Naples, and Rome would equip Wolfgang with the skills needed to secure future commissions from Europe's most prestigious opera houses. He also harbored hopes of securing court appointments within the northern Italian Habsburg territories for both himself and his son. This strategic move required leaving behind his sister Nannerl and their mother, a sacrifice they resented but which made economic sense. The journey was financed by performances for the nobility and public concerts rather than a fixed salary. Permission to travel came with a gift of 600 florins, a sum far exceeding Leopold's annual salary of 354 florins. Wolfgang received the honorary title of Konzertmeister, hinting at a potential salary upon return.

• 2. The First Italian Tour

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  On the 13th of December 1769, Leopold and Wolfgang set out from Salzburg armed with testimonials designed to smooth their passage through the Alps. Their route took them through Innsbruck and over the Brenner Pass into Italy, eventually reaching Verona where they spent two weeks. A local newspaper reported glowingly on Wolfgang's concert held on the 5th of January 1770. During this stay, the boy had his portrait painted by Giambettino Cignaroli, commissioned by Pietro Lugiati. They continued to Mantua, where a press review described the young musician as a miracle born by nature. However, not all encounters were warm; Prince Michael of Thurn und Taxis snubbed them through a servant, refusing to meet. In Milan, they lodged in the monastery of San Marco near Count Karl Joseph Firmian's palace. Firmian provided generous hospitality and hosted concerts attended by city notables including Archduke Ferdinand. These events led to a commission for an opera for the following winter's carnival season. The Mozarts left Milan on the 15th of March heading south toward Florence and Rome, carrying fresh letters of recommendation from Firmian.

• 3. Musical Education And Mentorship

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  In Bologna, a center for masters and scholars, the Mozarts met Giovanni Battista Martini, Europe's most renowned expert in Baroque counterpoint. Martini received the young composer and tested him with exercises in fugue. Leopold arranged for extended tuition during a return visit in the summer. On the 9th of October 1770, Wolfgang underwent examination for membership in Bologna's Accademia Filarmonica. He offered Quaerite primum regnum, K. 86/73v, as his test piece. Under ordinary circumstances, this attempt at polyphonic form would have been rejected, but Martini offered corrections and likely paid the admission fee. Membership was duly approved. Later that year, while staying in Bologna, Mozart composed a Miserere in A minor, K. 85/73s. He also wrote a short minuet, K. 122/73t, while waiting for his father's leg injury to heal. The musicologist Daniel E. Freeman suggests that Mozart's approach to composing arias changed fundamentally during this period, bringing his style into closer alignment with that of Josef Mysliveček. This association marked the beginning of a close relationship between Mysliveček and the Mozart family that lasted until 1778.

• 4. Operatic Commissions In Milan

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  The first major commission arrived as Mitridate, re di Ponto by Vittorio Cigna-Santi. Rehearsals began on the 6th of December 1770, revealing Wolfgang's mastery of Italian diction. On the 26th of December, he directed the first public performance from the keyboard, dressed in a scarlet coat lined with blue satin. The audience demanded encores and cried Evviva il maestro! The opera ran for 22 performances. The Gazetta di Milano praised the work handsomely, noting how the young maestro studied the beauties of nature. Subsequent reactions were less effusive, and there are no records of further performances before its revival at the Salzburg Festival in 1971. A second journey brought Ascanio in Alba, which crushed the reception of Hasse's Ruggiero. Leopold wrote home that all noblemen addressed them in the street to congratulate Wolfgang. The third opera, Lucio Silla, premiered on the 26th of December 1772. Its start was delayed two hours by the late arrival of Archduke Ferdinand. Quarrels among performers extended the running time until two o'clock the following morning. Despite chaos, the theatre remained full for 26 performances.

• 5. Diplomatic Hopes And Rejections

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  Leopold hoped to secure prestigious appointments within the northern Italian Habsburg courts for both himself and his son. This objective grew more important as his own advancement in Salzburg became unlikely. He solicited Archduke Ferdinand on the 30th of November 1771, passing the request to the imperial court in Vienna. Empress Maria Theresa replied unequivocally, describing the Mozarts as useless people whose appointment would debase royal service. She added that such people go around the world like beggars. Leopold never learned the letter's contents; by the time it reached Milan, they had already left. Later attempts to secure an appointment from Grand Duke Leopold I of Tuscany also failed. A negative response arrived on the 27th of February 1773. It is unknown whether the Grand Duke was influenced by his mother's opinion, but the rejection effectively ended hopes of an Italian court appointment. The Mozarts returned to Salzburg on the 4th of March, leaving Milan after nine days of travel. Neither father nor son visited Italy again.

• 6. Financial Outcomes And Reception

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  Maynard Solomon analyzed the meagre financial information provided by Leopold and concluded that the Mozarts made a substantial profit, perhaps as much as 2,900 florins. They moved among the highest Italian nobility and received wide recognition. Wolfgang was knighted by Pope Clement XIV and admitted to academies in Bologna and Verona. However, the reception was not uniformly cordial. The Neapolitan court treated them coldly, and Prince Michael of Thurn und Taxis snubbed them. In Naples, a concert brought in about 750 florins, though Leopold would not reveal the exact amount. Despite critical success for his Milan operas, Mozart was never invited to write another opera there. There were no further commissions from any other centers he had visited. The failure lay in Leopold's inability to secure a prestigious appointment despite persistence. He eventually recognized that he could not overcome forces arrayed against him. With all hopes of an Italian court appointment gone, Leopold sought to secure the family's future through other means. He stated that they would not go under because God would help them.