Mozart’s Reception in Vienna, 1787-1791

Abstract

Abstract Upon arriving in Vienna in 1781, Mozart rapidly became the darling of the upper aristocracy. During the first five years of his life in the imperial capital, he was in continual demand as a performer and teacher, he composed a popular Singspiel, and he earned a great deal of money. Then, about the time of Le nozze di Figaro in 1786, things began to go sour. Perhaps because of aristocratic uneasiness over the supposed revolutionary sentiments of Figaro and the moral ambiguity of Don Giovanni, or perhaps because of Mozart’s refusal to accept his ‘place’ as a common entertainer, his popularity declined precipitously: his music went out of fashion, invitations to perform disappeared, and his income plummeted.