Mitridate, King of Pontus Opera seria in three acts Text by VITTORIO AMEDEO CIGNA-SANTI Music by Mozart (sung in Italian)
Mozart's first opera seria, written as he was approaching his 14th birthday, is a strong, moral story of love and hate, treachery and 'virtue set in Asia Minor during the first century bc.
MOZARTEUM ORCHESTRA conducted by LEOPOLD HAGER
(Recording from the 1977 Salzburg Mozart Week, made available by courtesy of Austrian Radio)
5.0* Stanley Sadie talks about Italian opera seria and the background to Mozart's Mitridate.
5.15* Mitridate, Re di Ponto Act 2
6.15* pm Leopold Mozart's ver. sion of the background to Mitridate is contained in the letters he sent to his family in Salzburg during the preparations for the first performance of his son's opera in 1770. The letters provide a fascinating insight into the conditions and intrigues surrounding 18th-century opera.
JEFFREY SEGAL reads a selection from EMILY ANDERSON 'S translation.;
6.25* Mitridate, Re di Pont* Act 3