February 12 & 13, 2021
6:00 – Mozart Performance
6:30 – Dinner
After Dinner – Salieri Performance
The Impresario
Music by W. A. Mozart
Libretto by Stephanie the Younger
and
Prima la musica, poi le parole
Music by Antonio Salieri
Libretto by Giovanni Battista Casti
Performed in English Translations
Friday, February 12, 2021, 6:00pm
Saturday, February 13, 2021, 6:00pm
St. Jude Celebration Hall, St. Anastasia Catholic Church
Tickets: Enhanced – $125, Regular – $75
On February 7, 1786, Austria’s Emperor Joseph II threw a party in the Orangery of the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. His guests were treated to dinner and new short comedies by the two leading opera composers of the day, W. A. Mozart and Antonio Salieri. The 20-year-old Mozart offered The Impresario, about an opera producer who deftly balances the competing interests of a rising young star and an aging diva. The 35-year-old Salieri presented Prima la musica, poi le parole (First the music, then the words), which similarly shows a composer and librettist trying to write a work that satisfies both prima donna and young upstart.
First Coast Opera will recreate this evening on February 11 and February 12, 2021, in the St. Jude Celebration Hall at St. Anastasia Catholic Church, featuring a catered dinner and performances by guest artists from the Alabama School of the Arts in Mobile. Regular tickets are $75 per person, while Enhanced Tickets, including a special reception with the artists, are $125 per person.