Commandment

In September 2007, the Classical Opera Company presented a rare staging of Mozart’s first oratorio, written when he was merely 11 years old. Sung in a witty and virtuosic new translation by Nigel Lewis, this production was thought to be the first in the UK for more than thirty years. This production continued the Classical Opera Company’s complete cycle of Mozart’s operas, and was the company’s first appearance at the wonderfully atmospheric Wilton’s Music Hall.

The project was specifically designed to develop and showcase highly promising young artists, and the cast featured some of the country’s most outstanding young vocal talent. The production also marked the culmination of an enterprising collaboration with the Royal College of Art, whose students designed both set and costumes.

The title refers to the First Commandment – “to magnify the Lord our God with every fibre of our being”. The piece, however, is more allegorical than overtly religious, and already Mozart’s innate sense of understanding and sympathy for the human condition shines through.