Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-03T00:36:45.321Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mozart's Fee for Così fan tutte

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2020

Dexter Edge
Dexter Edge*
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

According to one of his more heart-rending letters to Michael Puchberg, Mozart expected to receive 200 ducats from the directorate of the Viennese court theatres for composing Così fan tutte. This amount, equivalent to 900 gulden, would have been twice the usual fee paid for a newly composed opera at that time. Mozart's statement to Puchberg has long been accepted at face value, because the theatrical financial records for the season in which Così fan tutte had its première have been thought to be lost. Recently, however, an entry in a little-known theatrical ledger has come to light which shows that, in late February 1790, Mozart was paid 450 gulden for composing Così fan tutte, half of what he had claimed to expect. In attempting to account for the discrepancy between the documented payment and Mozart's expectation, this essay will investigate all fees and gifts received by composers and librettists for operas commissioned by the Viennese Nationaltheater from the founding of the German Singspiel in 1778 until the end of the theatrical season 1791–2. This investigation will not only help to suggest an explanation for the discrepancy, it will also illuminate the wider context in which Mozart's Viennese operas were commissioned, and will put into perspective the fees he was paid for them.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Royal Musical Association , Volume 116 , Issue 2 , 1991 , pp. 211 - 235
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 Royal Musical Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 See Angermüller, Rudolph, ‘Anmerkungen zu “Così fan tutte”’, Österreichische Musikzeitschrift, 37 (1982), 379–86 (p 382) The story is told in Friedrich Heinse's Reise- und LebensSkizzen nebst dramaturgischen Blättern (Leipzig, 1837).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

2 Niemetschek, Franz, W A Mozart's Leben nach Originalquellen beschrieben von Franz Niemetschek Facsimiledruck der ersten Ausgabe, mit den Lesarten und Zusätzen der zweiten vom Jahre 1808 und Einleitung von Dr Ernst Rychnovsky (Prague, n d.), 29 ‘Es stand nicht in seiner Gewalt, den Auftrag abzulehnen’ Niemetschek's discussion of Così fan tutte was taken over by Nissen with only minor changes of wordingGoogle Scholar

3 ‘Verehrungswürdigster Freund und Ordensbruderl Eischrecken Sie nicht über den Inhalt dieses Briefes; – nur bei Ihnen – mein Bester, da Sie mich und meine Umstände ganz kennen, habe ich das Herz mich ganz vertrauensvoll zu entdecken – künftigen Monat bekomme ich von der Direction (nach ietziger Einrichtung) 200 Ducaten für meine Oper; – können und wollen Sie mir 400 fl. bis dahin geben, so ziehen Sie Ihren Freund aus der größten Verlegenheit und ich gebe Ihnen mein Ehrenwort, daß Sie das Geld zur bestimmten Zeit baar und richtig mit allem Dank zurück haben sollen. Ich bitte Sie nochmals reißen Sie mich nur diesmal aus meiner fatalen Lage, wie ich das Geld für die Oper erhalte, so sollen Sie die 400 fl. ganz gewiß wieder zurück haben… Donnerstag. lade ich Sie (aber nur Sie allein) um 10 Uhr Vormittag zu mir ein, zu einer Kleinen Oper = Probe, – nur Sie und Haydn lade ich dazu. – Mündlich werde ich Ihnen Cabalen von Sahen erzählen, die aber alle schon zu Wasser geworden sind’. Wilhelm A Bauer and Otto Erich Deutsch, Mozart Briefe und Aufzeichnungen Gesamtausgabe, herausgegeben von der Internationalen Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg, 7 vols. (Kassel, 1962–75), iv, 99–100 The letter, which is not dated, was probably written on 29 December 1789. The autograph is lost.Google Scholar

4 Salieri's payment for composing La cifra and revising Il pastor fido is recorded in the same source as Mozart's fee for Così fan tutte (see below, note 8). Il pastor fido was premièred on 11 February 1789 and performed a total of three times before the end of the season, apparently with little success It was not performed the following season until 18 October 1789, presumably with extensive revisions. The revisions seem not to have helped, the opera was performed only twice more, on 26 October and 1 November, apparently with no greater success than in the preceding season.Google Scholar

5 The emperor's death did not deprive Mozart's opera of more than two or three performances. According to theatrical regulations, operas were not allowed in the court theatres during Lent In 1790 Lent began on 17 February (Ash Wednesday) and no operas would have been permitted until the week after Easter in any eventGoogle Scholar

6 Vienna, Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv, Generalintendanz der Hoftheater, Sonderreihe 11–34. Rechnungen der k. k. Theatralhofdirektion (hereafter abbreviated HHStA, Hoftheater, SR). Vols. 11–17 are semi-annual reports for the theatrical seasons 1776–7 to 1780–1; volumes for the second half of the season 1778–9 and the first half of the season 1779–80 are missing. Vols. 18–34 are annual reports for the seasons 1781–2 to 1801–2; volumes for the seasons 1789–90, 1790–1, 1792–3, 1795–6, 1797–8 and 1800–1 are missing. Until 1787, the theatrical season was reckoned from Holy Saturday (the day before Easter) to Good Friday the following year. Thus, for example, the report for the season 1785–6 (HHStA, Hoftheater, SR 22) is entitled ‘Neunzehente, und zwanzigste kai[serliche] kömg[liche] Theatral Hof = Directions = Cassa halbjährige Rechnung über Empfang und Ausgab pro Anno theatrali 1785 Id est vom 26ten Mart[is] 1785. bis inclusive 14ten Aprilis 1786’ 26 March 1785 was the Saturday before Easter, and 14 April 1786 was Good Friday In 1788 and 1789, on the other hand, the theatrical seasons ended on the last Friday in February In 1794–5 the theatrical year was shifted to run from 1 August to 31 July The new system begins with Vol. 29, consequently, vol. 28 covers the short season 8 March 1794 to 31 July 1794Google Scholar

7 Most of these payments are transcribed in Otto Erich Deutsch, Mozart Die Dokumente seines Lebens, Neue Mozart Ausgabe, Serie X, Supplement, Werkgruppe 34 (Kassel, 1961), 179, 240 and 276. Deutsch unaccountably omitted a payment of 52 gulden 30 kreuzer to Jean Huber de Camp for ‘3 mal gestellte kleinen Ballet zur Opera le nozze di Figaro‘ This payment is recorded on the same page of HHStA. Hoftheater, SR 23, as Mozart's fee for the music.Google Scholar

8 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (A Wn), Theatersammlung, M 4000; no original title; later title, in pencil, ‘Kassabuch der beiden Hoftheater 1789–1796, usw Burgtheater 1789–1796 Kärntnertor theater, 16.11 1791–1796’, 2 vols. The first volume covers the period 26 February 1789 to 30 July 1794, the second volume the period 1 August 1794 to 9 March 1797 These volumes, although known to Viennese theatre historians, have been overlooked by musicologists They are cited in the bibliography to Otto Michtner, Das alte Burgtheater als Opernbühne von der Einführung des deutschen Singspiels (1778) bis zum Tod Kaiser Leopolds II (1792), Theatergeschichte Österreichs, 3/i (Vienna, 1970), and in Franz Hadamowsky, Die Wiener Hoftheater (Staatstheater) 1776–1966 Verzeichnis der aufgeführten Stücke mit Bestandsnachweis und täglichem Spielplan, i 1776–1810, Veröffentlichungen der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek, Erste Reihe, Veröffentlichungen der Theatersammlung, 4 (Vienna, 1966), 153 Neither author mentions the fee for Così fan tutte. Note that the ledgers discussed here supply not only the missing information for the season 1789–90, but also for the seasons 1790–1, 1792–3 and 1795–6, for which Hoftheater Rechnungsbücher are also missing. My thanks to Evan Baker for directing my attention to these ledgers.Google Scholar

9 See my forthcoming study ‘Mozart Reception in Vienna, 1787–1791’, which is based in part on a comparative analysis of the gate receipts from operas given in the court theatres during this period. The receipts from the première of La cifra were 485 gulden 21 kreuzerGoogle Scholar

10 The figure of 450 gulden is cited without reference by Rudolph Angermüller in ’ “Seine Fehler waren, daß er das Geld nicht zu dirrigieren wuste” Mozarts finanzielle Verhältnisse’, Collectanea Mozartiana (Tutzing, 1988), 35. Angermüller was told of the payment by the late Peter Riethus, an employee of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (personal communication from Dr Angermüller) Riethus should be credited with the discovery.Google Scholar

11 Kreuzer was normally abbreviated ‘kr ‘or ‘xr ’ (‘Kreuz’ is the German word for ‘cross’ or ‘x‘) The standard reference on Austrian coins issued before the Second World War is Viktor Miller zu Aichholz, August Loehr and Eduard Holzmair, Osterretchische Münzpragungen, 1519–1938 (Vienna, 1948) See also Günther Probszt, Osterretchische Münz- und Geldgeschichte Von den Anfängen bis 1918 (2nd edn, Vienna, 1983)Google Scholar

12 Acts relating to Austrian currency values are transcribed in Siegfried Becher, Das osterreichische Munzwesen vom Jahre 1524 bis 1838 in historischer, statistischer und legislativer Hinsicht, 2 vols (Vienna, 1838) For the acts referred to here, see especially ii, 327–9, a table of currency values from 1 August 1779; 333–4, patent of 1 September 1783; and 336–7, patent of 12 January 1786Google Scholar

13 Salieri's payment was actually recorded in the financial report for the following seasonGoogle Scholar

14 Salieri's payment of 200 ducats for La cifra is not counted here as an exceptional fee, since it was also intended, in part, as compensation for his revisions to Il pastor fido. Because so little is known about the process by which operas were commissioned, it is difficult to say whether extraordinary fees like those paid to Salieri, Paisiello and Cimarosa were fixed before the première (and thus predicated upon the composer's previous success), or if such fees were determined after the première, on the basis of the new opera's reception or the emperor's good opinion of it. Mozart's letter to Puchberg cited at the beginning of this article that the fee was discussed before the premièreGoogle Scholar

15 Johann Gottlieb Stephanie was known as Stephanie the Younger (Stephanie der Jüngere, abbreviated Stephanie d J) in order to distinguish him from his half-brother Christian Gottlob Stephanie (Stephanie der Altere), who was also employed by the Viennese court theatres.Google Scholar

16 An author from the nobility had the option of donating the proceeds to charity: von Ayrenhoff, for example, donated to a local orphanage the box-office receipts of 264 gulden 25 kreuzer from the third (and last) performance on 22 January 1780 of his play Alte Liebe rostet wohl! (HHStA, Hoftheater, SR 15) On the policy of rewarding the author of a new German play with the box-office receipts from the third performance, see belowGoogle Scholar

17 See point 3 of ‘Punkten für die Theatral-Direction’, 8 February 1782, in Rudolf Payer von Thurn, Joseph II als Theaterdirektor Ungedruckte Briefe und Aktenstücke aus den Kinderjahren des Burgtheaters (Vienna, 1920), 28Google Scholar

18 Allgemeiner Theater Allmanach von Jahr 1782 (Vienna, 1782), 144.Google Scholar

19 Payments of third box-office receipts (‘3te Einnahme’) are usually, but not invariably, recorded under the rubric ‘Compositions and Translations’Google Scholar

20 A typical entry reads ‘To Karl von Dittersdorf, the receipts from the opera Doktor und Apotheker on 10 February 1787, commanded according to the most high provision of His Majesty Under No. 122. 687.17’ (‘Dem Dittersdorf v Karl, die auf allerhöchste Anschaffung Sr Mait anbefohlene Einnahme der Opera der Doktor und der Apodecker, von 10tn. Hornung [1]787. sub N° 122. 687 17’; HHStA, Hoftheater, SR 23, p 52).Google Scholar

21 The story is reported by F Kasimir Kunz in Allmanach der kais königl. National=Schaubühne in Wien auf das Jahr 1789 (Vienna, n.d.). ‘Die Theatraldirektion stellte Seiner Majestät dem Kaiser die zerrütteten Umstände der Madame Rothe vor, und bat, der Sängerin a us ihrer Verlegenheit zu helfen, die Einnahme einer Oper zu bewilligen Der gnädigste Monarch genehmighte die Bitte, und Madame Rothe sah sich wenigstens auf eine Zeit in einer besseren Lage’ (p 118). Rothe was given the receipts of 535 gulden 5 kreuzer from the performances in the Kärntnertortheater on 13 January 1788 of the two Singspiele Die drey Pächter and Der Faßbinder. The payment is recorded as item 123 in HHStA, Hoftheater, SR 24Google Scholar

22 In the Brünner Zeitung of 12 January 1787, it is reported that the emperor gave Martín a golden box as well as a sum of money ‘The new Italian opera La cosa rara, set to music by the Spanish kapellmeister Martini, has received quite extraordinary acclaim on account of the prevailing Spanish flavour, which is new here [i e in Vienna] The monarch therefore condescended to present the aforementioned with a precious golden box and a sum of money ’ (‘Die von dem Spanischen Kapellmeister Martini in Musik gesetzte neue wälsche Oper, la cosa rara betitelt, erhält wegen des darin herrschenden und allhier neuen Spanischen Geschmacks ganz außerordentlichen Beifall Der Monarch hat denselben dafür mit einer kostbaren goldnen Dose, und einer Summe Gelds zu beschenken geruht’, Brünner Zeitung, no 4, 12 January 1787, p 30) It is not certain whether both the golden box and the sum of money are subsumed under the payment listed in the theatrical accountsGoogle Scholar

23 ‘Der kayser ist ohnehin knicker’ (‘anyway, the emperor is a tightwad’, Mozart Briefe, iii, 201, letter from Wolfgang to Leopold, 10 April 1782)Google Scholar

24 Ibid., 261, letter from Wolfgang to Leopold, 29 March 1783Google Scholar

25 Regarding this payment, see the transcription of Joseph's letter to Count Orsini-Rosenberg of 7 February 1786 in Deutsch, Mozart Die Dokumente seines Lebens, 230 According to the Brunner Zeitung (no 15, 21 February 1786, p 118), Stephanie the Younger received a reward of 100 ducats for writing Der Schauspieldirektor Stephanie's reward is not mentioned in Joseph's letter to RosenbergGoogle Scholar

26 ‘Neulich hat sich zu Wien die nach Warschau und von dort nach Petersburg reisende Sängerin, Madame Banti, in einer musikalischen Akademie hören lassen Ihre Stimme ist eine der reizendsten und rührendsten, und so melodisch, daß man kaum ein Beispiel hat. Auch erhielt sie einen ungetheilten Beifall, und es heißt, daß ihr der Monarch noch während des Singens ein Geschenk von 100 Dukaten abreichen ließ’ (Brünner Zeitung, no 52, 30 June 1786, p 413) No record of this present has been found The concert is probably that reported by Count Zinzendorf in his diary on 15 June 1786, see Morrow, Mary Sue, Concert Life in Haydn's Vienna Aspects of a Developing Musical and Social Institution (Stuyvesant, 1989), 263Google Scholar

27 ‘Wir erinnern uns eines Vorfalles, der. ein Paar Jahre alt ist. Der Kaiser saß mit mehreren Herrschaften auf seinem Lustschlosse Schönbrunn an der Tafel, von ungefähr kam eine Bande Bergknappen und musizirte im Garten, der Kaiser schickte ihnen 100 Dukaten – eine Dame äußerte ihre Verwunderung, das Er für einige gedärmentzündungsähnliche Simphonien so viel Geld hergebe, der Monarch antwortete. Fürstini auf solche Art gehen des Jahres viele Hunderttausende aus meinem Beutel, und doch nennt man mich – geizig’ (Rapport von Wien, XXXXIII Stück, 25 February 1789, p. 663)Google Scholar

28 In discussing such gifts given by the emperor, H. C. Robbins Landon has pointed to payment records for the jewellery given to Princess Elisabeth Wilhelmine of Württemberg on the occasion of her marriage to Archduke Franz in January 1788 Landon suggests that such records might include information about gifts to musicians; see Mozart The Golden Years, 1781–1791 (New York, 1989), 191 and note 28 The source cited by Landon – Vienna, HHStA, Oberstkämmereramt, Sonderreihe, vols 8–10, Geheime Kammerzahlamt, ‘Vorschreib Buch auf Kostgelder, Anschaffungen, Präsenten, Kanzleÿ Aufgaben’ (title from volume for 1788–91) – covers certain miscellaneous expenses for the years 1781–91, but contains nothing directly concerning gifts to musicians, it should be mentioned, however, that some pages appear to have been removed from the volumes (as, for example, from vol 10, where pp 89–98 are missing, and appear to have been cut out). These records appear to record the cost of snuff-boxes and similar items made to be given as gifts, but the recipients of the gifts are not namedGoogle Scholar

29 ‘Beygeschlossene Tabatiere (von 105 #) nebst den 2 Rouleaux Ducaten werden Sie dem Abbate Casti für den Re Teodoro und das Poema Tartaro als ein Geschenk in meinem Namen übergeben’ Transcribed in Payer von Thurn, Joseph II als Theaterdirektor, 59 The symbol ‘#’ was frequently used to refer to ducatsGoogle Scholar

30 Letter from Joseph II to Rosenberg, dated 29 August 1784, six days after the première on 23 August (ibid., 53) No payment to Casti for the libretto is recorded in the theatrical accountsGoogle Scholar

31 See Mozart Briefe, iv, 102, letter of 20 January 1790 Mozart writes. ‘Dearest friendl They forgot to deliver your recent so generous letter to me at the proper time, consequently I too could not answer sooner I am deeply moved by your friendship and kindness; if you can and will still entrust the 100 gulden to me, I will be most obliged.’ (‘Liebster Freund! – Ihr letzteres so gütiges Billet hat man vergessen mir zu gehörigen Zeit einzuhändigen, folglich konnte ich auch nicht cher darauf ant-worten – Ich bin ganz gerührt von Ihrer Freundschaft und Güte; können und wollen Sie die 100 fl mir noch anvertrauen, so verbinden Sie mich recht sehr –’.) In saying ‘still entrust the 100 gulden’ Mozart seems to be referring to the previous loan of 300 gulden.Google Scholar

32 Ibid., 103, letter of 20 February 1790 ‘well es eine Sache betrifft, die sich nicht verschieben läßt‘Google Scholar

33 Exceptions are Casti's gift for the libretto of Il rè Teodoro, which was commissioned by the Nationaltheater, and payments to composers, librettists and performers for Der Schauspieldirektor and Prima la musica, e poi le parole, works commissioned privately by the emperorGoogle Scholar

34 Oddly, Mozart seems to have received no payment for the arias and ensembles he composed for insertion in operas by other composers, although other composers of such pieces were paid, at least occasionallyGoogle Scholar

35 We know only that Mozart was paid in the week beginning 20 February, the day the emperor died Since the exact date of payment within that week is not recorded, it is possible, strictly speaking, that the fee was paid on 20 February Thus, theoretically, the dying emperor could have made some last-minute pronouncement concerning Mozart, but this seems extremely unlikelyGoogle Scholar

36 In the week of 1–7 May 1790, Salieri received 450 gulden ‘for modifications beyond his obligation made over several years to various operas’ (‘dem Salieri Anton, für die durch einige Jahre ausser seiner Schuldigkeit gemachte Abänderungen bei verschiedenen Opern 450 –‘; in A-Wn, M 4000)Google Scholar

37 Julia Moore, in her article ‘Mozart in the Market-Place’, Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 114(1989), 18–42, gives a table of Mozart's income during his years in Vienna (Table 3, p 21) That table can now be corrected to show a documented income of 1500 fl in 1789 (800 fl. salary and 700 fl for the String Quartet K 575) and 1385 fl. in 1790 (800 fl salary, 450 fl for Così fan tutte and 135 fl for a performance before the elector in Mainz)Google Scholar