Mozart

Mozart was the first of the two comédies musicales on which Reynaldo Hahn worked with that famous man of the theatre, Sacha Guitry; the second one, Ô mon bel inconnu, was given eight years later, in 1933. After L’Amour masqué (1923), Guitry wished to provide another role for his then wife, the singer and actress Yvonne Printemps. Messager, who was then unavailable, recommended Hahn, a fervent admirer of Mozart, who was fired with enthusiasm by a script that offered a delightful opportunity to infiltrate his score with Mozartian moments. The story concerns the fictional adventures of Mozart in Paris. In 1778, in her salon, Madame d’Épinay, tries to persuade her godchild, Marie-Anne de Saint-Pons, of the advantages of marrying the Marquis de Chambreuil. The conversation turns to Mozart, who as a child on his first visit to Paris had played the harpsichord in that very salon. Baron Grimm realises that Mozart is currently in the capital and decides to bring him to the Marquise’s home. The young man, now twenty-two and famous (played by Yvonne Printemps), charms the ladies of the house one by one by sketching out the themes of his future opera Don Giovanni. His flirting is brought to an end when he is called back to Salzburg by his father. This scenario gave Guitry an opportunity to include a subtext addressed to his wife, who was a little too unfaithful for his liking. For Hahn, it represented an unprecedented opportunity to explore the style of his favourite composer, which he did by means of quotations brilliantly integrated into his own language. Messager applauded that feat, stating that Hahn “has been so successful in blending his own personal style with that of his model that it is no longer clear where the seams are and what should be attributed to one or the other.” The rumour having spread all over Paris that Guitry was settling scores on stage, the première of Mozart at the Théâtre Édouard VII was the social event of the moment, not to be missed!