page_title: Mitridate, re di Ponto
hierarchical_section_title: Mitridate, re di Ponto
caption_attribution_description: English: The so-called "Bologna Mozart" was copied 1777 in Salzburg (Austria) by a now unknown painter from a lost original for Padre Martini in Bologna (Italy), who had ordered it for his gallery of composers. Today it is displayed in the Museo internazionale e biblioteca della musica in Bologna in Italy. Leopold Mozart, W. A. Mozart’s father, wrote about this portrait: „It has little value as a piece of art, but as to the issue of resemblance, I can assure you that it is perfect.” (Original text&#58; „Malerisch hat es wenig wert, aber was die Ähnlichkeit anbetrifft, so versichere ich Ihnen, daß es ihm ganz und gar ähnlich sieht.“) Reference: Letter of Leopold Mozart to Padre Martini in Bologna from Dec 22, 1777 (MBA II, pp. 204f, No. 396). Français&#160;: Ce portrait connu sous le nom de «Mozart de Bologne» est une copie exécutée en 1777 à Salzbourg par un peintre inconnu d'une toile originale perdue qui avait elle-même été peinte pour le père Martini à Bologne pour sa galerie de compositeurs. L'oeuvre est aujourd'hui exposée au Musée civique bibliographique et musical de Bologne. Leopold Mozart, le père de W. A. Mozart, écrivit au sujet de ce protrait&#160;: «il a peu de valeur comme oeuvre d'art mais en ce qui concerne la ressemblance, je peux vous assurer qu'il est parfait». (texte original: „Malerisch hat es wenig wert, aber was die Ähnlichkeit anbetrifft, so versichere ich Ihnen, daß es ihm ganz und gar ähnlich sieht.“ Lettre de Leopold Mozart au Padre Martini de Bologne du 22 décembre 1777 (MBA II, pp. 204f, No. 396).
context_page_description: Mitridate, re di Ponto, K. 87, is an early opera seria in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto is by Vittorio Amedeo Cigna-Santi, after Giuseppe Parini's Italian translation of Jean Racine's play Mithridate.
  Mozart wrote Mitridate while touring Italy in 1770. The musicologist Daniel E. Freeman has demonstrated that it was composed with close reference to the opera La Nitteti by Josef Mysliveček. The latter was the opera being prepared for production in Bologna when Mozart met Mysliveček for the first time with his father in March 1770. Mysliveček visited the Mozarts frequently in Bologna during the summer of 1770 while Wolfgang was working on Mitridate. Mozart gained expertise in composition from his older friend and also incorporated some of his musical motives into his own operatic setting. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Regio Ducale, Milan, on 26 December 1770. It was a success, having been performed twenty-one times despite doubts because of Mozart's extreme youth – he was 14 at the time. No revival took place until the 20th century.
context_section_description: Mitridate, re di Ponto (Mithridates, King of Pontus), K. 87 (74a), is an early opera seria in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto is by Vittorio Amedeo Cigna-Santi, after Giuseppe Parini's Italian translation of Jean Racine's play Mithridate.
  Mozart wrote Mitridate while touring Italy in 1770. The musicologist Daniel E. Freeman has demonstrated that it was composed with close reference to the opera La Nitteti by Josef Mysliveček. The latter was the opera being prepared for production in Bologna when Mozart met Mysliveček for the first time with his father in March 1770. Mysliveček visited the Mozarts frequently in Bologna during the summer of 1770 while Wolfgang was working on Mitridate. Mozart gained expertise in composition from his older friend and also incorporated some of his musical motives into his own operatic setting. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Regio Ducale, Milan, on 26 December 1770 (at the Milan Carnival). It was a success, having been performed twenty-one times despite doubts because of Mozart's extreme youth – he was 14 at the time. No revival took place until the 20th century. This opera features virtuoso arias for the principal roles, but only two ensemble numbers: the act 2 ending duet between Aspasia and Sifare ("Se viver non degg’io"), and the brief quintet that ends the opera, very characteristic of standard baroque opera seria where the opera ends with a short coro or tutti number.
caption: The composer in 1777, by an unknown painter
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