Tuesday 24 September 2013, 7.30pm – Wigmore Hall, London

A lapsed Christian lies fast asleep in a shrubbery. Three allegorical figures – The Spirit of Christianity, Divine Justice and Divine Mercy – lament his predicament, but when The Spirit of Christianity pleads the sleeping man’s behalf, Justice and Mercy insist that neither of them can be of help if mankind continues along this indolent path.

Justice, however, is persuaded to give the sleeping man a vivid warning to mend his ways, which she does by presenting to him in a dream a nightmarish vision of his Day of Judgement. Suitably chastened, the man wakes up in a state of terror, but The Spirit of Worldliness now arrives. She urges the Christian to forget about his dream and to follow her pleasure-seeking philosophies. As Justice and Mercy withdraw to observe, The Spirit of Christianity seeks to win back the lapsed Christian, but will this lost soul be able to resist the temptations of indulgence and short-term satisfaction that Worldliness offers?

Tuesday 24 September 2013, 7.30pm – Wigmore Hall, London

The first part of the sacred singspiel Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots, which was first performed in the Knights’ Hall of the Archbishop of Salzburg’s Palace on 12 March 1767, represents Mozart’s first extended dramatic work. He was eleven years old when he wrote it.

Mozart’s earliest compositions – short sketches and doodles rather than fully worked out pieces – were written at the age of five, and by the time he turned eleven he had already written several symphonies, sonatas and arias. He had also recently returned home to Salzburg after a Grand Tour of northern Europe which had lasted for three and a half years, during which he had been introduced to the music of the great courts and opera houses of northern Germany, Paris and London.

When he finally returned home his employer, The Archbishop of Salzburg, seems to have been suspicious that Mozart was receiving help from his father, and allegedly arranged for the young prodigy to be locked up in solitary confinement while he set the words to a short oratorio. Any such test was clearly passed with flying colours, and Mozart was soon commissioned to write the first part of Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots, the sacred singspiel which was to be performed across three Thursdays in Lent. The remaining two parts, which were composed by the court composers Michael Haydn and Anton Adlgasser, have not survived.

The work’s title translates as ‘The obligation of the first commandment’, and refers to the Gospel according to Saint Mark, chapter 12, verse 30: “And thou shalt love the Lord with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” The preface of the libretto asserts that the purpose of the drama was “not only to delight the mind but also to elevate the soul”, adding that “there is no more dangerous state for the soul than a lack of alacrity in the work of salvation”. Despite such high-handed claims, though, the work is more allegorical than overtly religious, rather like a musical mystery play, and the music is astonishingly accomplished, its beauty, flair and descriptive virtuosity already anticipating the operatic masterpieces of Mozart’s maturity.

Tuesday 31 December, 7.00 pm – Wigmore Hall, London

Duet, “Se viver non degg’io” (original version) from Mitridate, re di Ponto
Lucy Crowe (Aspasia), Rebecca Bottone (Sifare), The Orchestra of Classical Opera/Ian Page (archive)

Concert aria, “Io ti lascio, oh cara, addio”
Darren Jeffery (bass-baritone), The Orchestra of Classical Opera/Ian Page (archive)

Trio, “Liebes Mandel, wo is’s Bandel?”
Rebecca Bottone (Constanze), Andrew Staples (Mozart), Darren Jeffery (Jacquin), The Orchestra of Classical Opera/Ian Page (archive)

Tuesday 31 December, 7.00 pm – Wigmore Hall, London

This year Classical Opera has been invited to present Wigmore Hall’s prestigious New Year’s Eve Concert, and we welcome an outstanding cast for a festive programme of Mozart rarities. The repertoire includes remarkable gems from Mozart’s childhood, some of his most exquisite sacred music and plenty of fun and surprises, culminating in an audacious attempt to perform The Marriage of Figaro in five minutes.