Lucius Sulla by Mozart, st 27 apr 2016, Od (2016/2016), Režírované Rita Cosentino, Dirigent Laurence Equilbey, Theater an der Wien, Vienna, Austria

16-year-old Mozart dealt with one of the cruelest periods of Roman antiquity in his second opera seria Lucio Silla : As a dictator, Cornelius Lucius Sulla (138-78 BC) had around 1,500 opposing nobles killed, but in his opera Mozart leaves at the end Silla (Sulla) rule against his competitor Cecilio Milde and pardons him. Mozart had the opera commission - just like two years earlier for Mitridate- Received from the Teatro Regio Ducale in Milan for the carnival season 1772/73. The composition, however, was associated with some difficulties: the librettist Giovanni da Gamerra had sent his libretto to his honored poet colleague Metastasio in Vienna for correction, whereupon Mozart had to revise all the recitatives composed in advance, and the singers sometimes arrived in Milan late, which is why the setting of the arias was delayed. The premiere on December 26, 1772 was only a moderate success, after 26 performances the work disappeared for a century and a half. It was not until the end of the 20th century that people became aware of the qualities of this opera, which, despite all convention, impresses with Mozart's attempt,