At just 12 years of age, WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART is already the author of two operas – the opera-buffa La finta semplice (The Fake Innocent) and the singspiel Bastien und Bastienne. Both bear the influence of French comic opera and present the genre primarily from its external sides. His next opera, consisting almost entirely of solo vocal numbers, is not extant, except for a few arias discovered at an auction sale. Next came his first opera seria, Mitridate, King of Pontus, and the one-act Il sogno di Scipione (Dream of Scipio). During his tour of Italy in 1770 with Mithridates, King of Pontus, Mozart experienced his first great success: in all 20-odd performances he was greeted with the line “Long live the little maestro”. Influenced by this success, the Teatro Reggio in Milan commissioned him for a second opera seria. “Every time I think of writing an opera,” Mozart noted, “I feel my body burning and trembling from head to toe.” Thus the 16-year-old composer created Lucio Silla (Lucius Sulla), based on a Roman subject and in imitation of Neapolitan models. The premiere in December 1772 was also followed by 20 performances with great success.

The central figure is Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, a dictator and Roman general who ruled in the 1st century B. C. He has a crush on Junia, the daughter of his enemy Caius Marius, who is in love with Ceccilio, a Roman senator exiled by Silas. Junia rejects Lucio Silla. Meanwhile, his sister Celia plots with Cina, her brother’s political enemy and her lover, to attack him… After the hero’s deep moral reflection on revenge, betrayal, honor, and forgiveness, the opera ends happily.

Clearly, Mozart’s youthful operas are marked by contemporary Neapolitan tastes and lack the psychological depth of his later opuses. But even then they show his remarkable craftsmanship and flair for grace.