THE STATION ORCHESTRA : Conductor, JOSEPH LEWIS
"The Impresario" is a short work which Mozart modestly called 'a comedy with Music' It is all about the trials and troubles of a theatrical manager who has to put up with the foibles and jealousies of 'star' performers. Mozart must have written it with gusto, for he had a good deal to do with operatic singers, who were thorns in the flesh of composers and managers alike.
The Opera in its original form only had occasional performances, owing chiefly to a good deal of foolish dialogue which it contained. Adaptations were tried with but little success, until Mr. Kingsley Lark recently made a new translation and arrangement from the original German, and the work in this improved form was broadcast last year.
It contains some of Mozart's best music. The Overture is (considering the small size of the work as a whole) surprisingly long and complex. It starts showily, and goes on to treat some charmingly vivacious tunes.