THIS IS THE AGE OF THE REDISCOVERY OF MOZART'S EARLY OPERAS

This 1981 Philips/Leopold Hager recording of "Apollo et Hyacinthus", K. 38, vol. 26 of Philips 1991 COMPLETE MOZART EDITION, is no longer available as a separate CD.
It is now included in the Philips COMPACT COMPLETE MOZART EDITION 2000/2006, in Box 11 "Litanies, Vespers, Oratorios, Cantatas, Masonic Music," with two other early operas, "Schuldigkeit", and "Betulia", plus the oratorio "Davide Penitente".
In addition, all 22 Mozart operas of the 2006 Salzburg Festival are published by Deutsche Grammophon as the "M-22" DVD collection, in 19 boxes, with one for both "Schuldigkeit" and "Apollo".
The M-22 DVD "Apollo" has been posted on YouTube with English subtitles.

The Latin libretto is online at "opera.stanford.edu". Also separately in Latin and German on the "Opera Guide" site, and together in Latin and German on the "stroh.userweb.mwn.de" site

These two early Mozart operas are gems. And they have a charm, a freshness, that, Hermann Abert emphasizes, the later operas will overpower with grandiosity. I listened to "Schuldigkeit" for a full month with no trace of lassitude, and the same with "Apollo", whereas to envision listening daily to "Don Giovanni", or even "Le Nozze", would be more challenging. However, I have listened to "Cosi" dayly for a full summer.

The truth is, we all have been so OVEREXPOSED to Mozart's late 5 operas that it is a sheer delight to discover the enchantment of his early works.
We are part of the generation DISCOVERING Mozart's early operas, dismissed out of hand as "juvenilia" by the older generation, who had never heard them or seen them onstage.
All this has changed since the 1980/90s thanks to recordings with the most beautiful voices, plus the exciting DVDs of nearly all the operas. Philips's COMPLETE MOZART EDITION (1991) has put all of Mozart on the map, for the whole world to take notice. But it is too late for the older generation, set in their impressions and "idées fixes", with no flexibility left to be curious about Mozart's early music.
Any genuine Mozart lover will adore both the incomparable 1981 Philips/Hager CD and the delightful 2006 M-22 DVD of "Apollo".

AT 11, MOZART ALREADY PROVED HIMSELF AN ACCOMPLISHED, PROFESSIONAL OPERA COMPOSER

Mozart, age 11, came to this work as a full-fledged accomplished composer.
He already had written 8 vocal pieces we know of, including three important arias:
- A motet in G minor "God is Our Refuge" K. 20, (July 1765, London)
- An aria for tenor, "Va dal Furor portata" K. 21, (London, 1765), lasting 6'30" -- his first aria, a song of anger.
- A second substantial, also 6' 30", aria for soprano, "Conservati fedele" K. 23, (The Hague, 1765).
- A kyrie for choir and strings K. 33, (2d. visit to Paris, June 1766).
- A "Stabat mater" K. 33c for 4 voices in G, (Paris or Salzburg, 1766), (lost).
[This list may be incomplete, as Leopold, cataloguing Mozart's works in the summer of 1768, noted 15 Italian arias composed in London and the Hague in 1765-66, instead of the just two mentioned above, K. 21 and K. 23).
- A third recitative/aria for tenor, "Or che il dover m'astringe" K. 36, (Salzburg, Dec. 1766), for the archbishop's anniversary. This concert aria, lasting 9' 30", proved critical as it was the work that gained Mozart his first operatic commission, "Schuldigkeit".
- A full-scale opera, even though labeled an "oratorio", "Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots" K. 35, (8 numbers, 1h 28'), written a couple of months before "Apollo", and performed in March and April, 1767.
- a Passion cantata, "Grabmusik" K. 42/35a, for soprano and bass, (4 numbers, 24'), written along with "Schuldigkeit".

Amazingly, Mozart found enough time to write this second opera, "Apollo et Hyacinthus" K. 38, (9 numbers, 1h 23') performed on May 13, 1767, barely two months after "Schuldigkeit" and "Grabmusik"! Such phenomenal creativity and versatility are beyond common comprehension.
During his Grand Tour, that lasted 3 ½ years, child Mozart was able to hear the music of the most important composers of the day, and to attend a multitude of operas. Gifted with a remarkable memory, he had been able to learn important features of opera writing from the masters of the genre: Handel, J.C. Bach, Hasse.

The new opera was written for the annual performance of the "Gymnasium", the grammar school connected to the Benedictine University in Salzburg, with its own theater attached to the University's Great Hall. Young Mozart never attended school anywhere, but his reputation, and his success with "Schuldigkeit" led to his commission for a second opera.
"Apollo" was written in Latin, to be played as an "intermezzo", in between the acts of a 5-act Latin tragedy, Clementia Croesi ('The Clemency of Croesus').

A MYTHOLOGICAL LIBRETTO

The original story is told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses (Book X). Orpheus sings that his father Apollo loved Hyacinthus over anybody else.
The Salzburg poet, Rufinus Widl, a Benedictine teacher of philosophy at the University, adapted this well-known classical story of Apollo's love for young Hyacinthus. While the two young men are playing, a discus thrown by Apollo bounces back off a rock and hits Hyacinthus in the head, killing him. Grieving after the freak accident, Apollo creates a flower from the boy's blood.
In another version, it is Zephyrus, jealous of Apollo's love for Hyacinthus, who blows the discus off its trajectory towards Hyacinthus's head.

Widl, the librettist, decided to add to the story an element of heterosexual love by introducing the character of Melia, the daughter of Oebalus, King of Lacedaemonia. Now, Apollo, already loved by Hyacinthus, is also courting the affection of Melia. Hyacinthus becomes Melia's brother, and is also the object of Zephyrus's intense friendship. Zephyrus kills Hyacinthus out of jealousy over his affection for Apollo, and accuses Apollo of the murder, to hide his own guilt.
Apollo is aware of Zephyrus's criminal act, and when returning to Melia, in his anger, he metamorphoses Zephyrus into a wind. Whereupon Melia, already informed by her father of her brother's death, is now horrified by this second killing by Apollo, refuses to accept him as her husband, and, on Oebalus's order, she banishes Apollo from the kingdom.
But Oebalus finds Hyacinthus still alive, and, in his last breath, able to reveal the truth. Oebalus and Melia profusely apologize to Apollo for their mistake: they were all victims of Zephyrus's treachery. Apollo is willing to be assuaged, everything is set right, and ends as it should. Hyacinthus is metamorphosed into a flower, Melia accepts Apollo, and all sing their happiness in the final trio.

The opera had no name, and Leopold catalogued it as "Music for a Latin Comedy". Nannerl gave it its current name around 1799. All the parts were sung by schoolboys plus one 23-year old University student (Oebalus'part). After the performance, Mozart displayed his talent on the harpsichord for the full audience.

The development of opera seria as a genre rested on the "Affektenlehre", the notion that the music expresses and translates the grand feelings and emotions favored by the aristocratic classes of the 17th-18th c. Mozart had mastered this genre from the very beginning, as eloquently confirmed by the lawyer Daines Barrington, who examined 8-year old Mozart in London in the summer of 1764.
He describes in his famous 1770 report to the Royal Society, "Account of a very remarkable young Musician", how he tested the boy's skills in playing entirely new scores by sight, in singing a new duet with his father while playing the accompaniment on the harpsichord -- an extraordinary feat of following three different parts simultaneously -- and in improvising music for "Song of love", "Affetto", "Song of rage", and "Song of Anger", in which the young boy "worked himself into such a pitch that he was beating his harpsichord like a person possessed, rising sometimes in his chair".

EXTRAORDINARY MUSIC

[Note: All musical comments quoted here come from Hermann Abert's "W.A. MOZART" (2007, p. 76-80), unless otherwise noted.]

This music is so exquisitely beautiful that the work stands on its own as a "masterpiece", even if unknown until now. There's no need to tout Mozart "signatures" to give it value, nor to find it significant because it contains so many "features" or so-called "echoes" (a bizarre concept), "glimpses", or "seeds" of the later operas. The charm of this ravishing opera stands sui generis, in a class of its own, and is manifest without stressing any possible links to future Mozart operas.
In fact, we are glad that it is NOT another "Don Giovanni", or another "Nozze". Mozart was versatile enough to create new styles all the time. The atmosphere, and the charm of this "miniature" opera are totally different from those of the Vienna operas, and thank God for it.

To us, modern listeners, what is astonishing is the quality of effervescent music, as in "Schuldigkeit".
I was so taken by this music, and the intoxicating voices of three world-class Mozartian singers -- sopranos Edith Mathis and especially Arleen Auger, and the great tenor Anthony-Rolfe Johnson -- that I have been listening to it every day for more than a month.
Truly, we are so lucky to have the incomparable Arleen Auger as Melia. Her mesmerizing voice is so shining, so seductive that I simply can never get enough of her. Leopold Hager was also lucky to find her available for a few of his early Mozart operas recordings. As soon as she sings, she illuminates the sound field like a flash of sunray.
And, fortunately, Melia gets the most music in the opera. Not only does she have her own aria, No. 4 "Laetari, iocari", but she sings in the two duets, No. 6 with Apollo, and No. 8 with Oebalus, and in the final No. 9 terzetto, with both Apollo and Oebalus.

[Note: There's also one recording of "Schuldigkeit" with Arleen Auger on the Koch/Schwann label, a find for any Mozart/Arleen Auger fan.]

Even though Leopold labeled this piece "Music for a Latin comedy", there is no soupçon of comedy. In spite of the apparent simplicity of the story line, it contains a bewildering recital of fluctuating emotions, moods, and situations, involving destruction, surprise, fear, lament, supplication, love, infatuation, jealousy, anger, rage, deceit, death, revenge, regret, grief, resignation, hope, excitement, respect, veneration, forgiveness, reconciliation, clemency, and joy. All those themes strictly belong to opera seria.

As in "Schuldigkeit", young Mozart excels at word painting, and does it abundantly here. He shows his superb mastery at orchestration, infusing the orchestra with a life of its own -- "handled with a certain independence and with flexibility vis-à-vis the text", which is "a legacy of opera buffa in the works of J.C. Bach". The orchestra can become a concertante partner to clarify and enhance the emotional output of the singer.

Did Leopold dip his hand into the score? Journalists immediately jump and raise the suspicion (which was used the year later, in 1768, in Vienna,, to block the production of "La Finta Semplice"). But Mozart had already composed so much instrumental and vocal music that he already knew what he was doing.
After Mozart's second visit to Paris (May- July 1766), on his return from London and Holland, Grimm eulogized the Mozart children in his "Correspondance Littéraire" (July 15, 1766). Commenting on Mozart's remarkable progress in all areas of music-making, Grimm recognized the young boy's exceptional ability in vocal writing and foresaw his future operatic success:
"He has even written several Italian arias, and I have little doubt that before he has reached the age of twelve, he will already have had an opera performed at some Italian theatre."

Of course, Leopold acted as a mentor, an assistant, and an editor offering suggestions and corrections, but the haunting beauty of the music must undoubtedly be credited to Mozart himself. Leopold was so aware of his son's miraculous talent that he never hesitated to push him into social situations where the boy had to prove his creativity beyond any suspicion by composing a new aria ex tempore.
This is how, at age 10, Mozart got in Dec. 1766 his commission in Salzburg for his first opera "Schuldigkeit" with his substantial aria "Or che il dover m'astringe" K. 36, and how, at age 14, he got in March 1770 his commission for his first Milan opera, "Mitridate" K 87/74a, by producing his great, extraordinary aria "Misero me! - Misero pargoletto" K. 77.

This complex Latin libretto posed a great challenge to the 11-year old. His achievement is the more remarkable, producing difficult and complex, but fascinating, opera music, showing his gift for expressing a huge palette of genuine feelings, characters, and motivations through beautiful melodies, powerful rhythms, and entrancing arias. The recitatives are developed into interesting harmonies, and the arias have a gripping intensity, in the da capo format. The work remains fresh and captivating, celebrating the god Apollo of music and vibrant youth.
John Dew, the stage director for the M-22 DVD, effuses:
"WHAT AMAZES ME IS THAT THIS 11-YEAR OLD CHILD WROTE A MASTERPIECE THAT IS COMPLETELY UNKNOWN, A MINIATURE OPERA SERIA".

NUMBERS & ARIAS -- SYNOPSIS & COMMENTS

Intrada

9 numbers:

- 1 Chorus

5 arias, distributed as follows, 1 each for the 5 characters:

- Hyacinthus: No. 2, (soprano = Edith MATHIS)
- Apollo: No. 3, (mezzo = CORNELIA WULKOPF)
- Melia: No. 4, (soprano = ARLEEN AUGER)
- Zephyrus: No. 5, (contralto = HANNA SCHWARZ)
- Oebalus: No. 7, (tenor = ANTHONY ROLFE JOHNSON)

2 Duettos:

- Melia & Apollo, No. 6;
- Melia & Oebalus, No. 8

1 Terzetto:

- Melia, Apollo, Oebalus, No. 9

There are 2 accompanied recitatives, a novelty for Mozart:
- "Non est -- Quis ergo, Nate! dic, si Patrem amas, quis te peremit?" (Hyacinthus, Oebalus), before Oebalus's No. 7 aria.
- "Rex! me redire cogit" (Apollo, Oebalus, Melia), before No. 9 Terzetto, final number.

Melia has the largest share of the singing, with a singing part in 4 numbers.

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Intrada:

Full of charm and energy, it lifts the curtain on an enchanted universe. Like in "Schuldigkeit", violas are divided -- in 5 of the 9 numbers of "Apollo".

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**In the opening recitative, the four characters are preparing a sacrifice for the god Apollo. Zephyrus complains that Oebalus is constantly offering such big sacrifices to Apollo and neglects the other gods. Zephyrus: "O care! quam libenter offerrem ilia Pectusque, si tu Apollo mihi meus fores!" -- "O beloved! I would willingly offer myself as sacrifice if you were my own Apollo". Indignant, Hyacinthus refuses to be honored like a god. Oebalus and Melia arrive to start the fire. Melia warns that dark clouds are announcing a coming storm. The fire is lit, and Oebalus leads the prayer sung in chorus.**

No. 1 Chorus et Oebalus: "Numen o Latonium!" (Oebalus = tenor ANTHONY ROLFE JOHNSON)

"O great god born of Latona! Hear the prayers of thy supplicants, who strive to worship thee that art thrice worthy of that honour. Grant that they may be attended by thy favour."

[The chorus sends a supplication to Apollo and Diana, full of "austere grandeur", recalling Gluck (Alan Page).]

Oebalus continues with a prayer (solo) "Oebalus Apollo creditam"

"O Apollo, this kingdom has always trusted you. Protect Oebalus's kingdom with your light."

[But a bolt of lightning destroys the altar and the fire. The sacrifice is not accepted. ]

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**Recitative: Oebalus & Melia see the disaster as a sign of Apollo's displeasure. Something must have gone wrong in their veneration of Apollo. Hyacinthus, in aparte, suspects Zephyrus's blasphemous words, daring to compare him to Apollo. Zephyrus, in aparte, wishes that Hyacinthus keeps quiet about his sacrilegious words. Oebalus worries that somebody must have offended the god, and fears this is an omen of his own destruction. Hyacinthus tries to console his father and calm his fears. His advice is not to be afraid of Apollo's thunderbolt, which is only sent as a testimony of the god's power.**

No. 2 Aria: "Saepe terrent Numina" (Hyacinthus = soprano Edith MATHIS)***

"Often the gods cause terror, rise up and threaten, cause wars that harm us, shoot arrows that do not hit the mark; but after the mock storm clouds, they laugh and jest. Now loving us, now frightening us, so they control the world, and gain respect for their power. "

[The gods always change, they are capricious, "now loving, now threatening", but they're not always enemies of humans and end up as friends and protectors. Oebalus still worries about the bad omen.
This is the longest aria, 9', full of vibrant, exciting coloratura. Mozart translates the fluctuations into music, and does some word-painting on "rident and jocantur" -- "They laugh and joke". The orchestra amplifies the gods threatening and smiling on mortals. The aria is important, since "not only does it introduce three contrastive themes in the aria's opening ritornello, but...it lovingly explores all manner of details in the text (note the chromatically rising figure at the word 'surgunt') ".]

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**Apollo now appears, attired as a shepherd, a "pastor". He's been chased from Olympus. He re-assures Oebalus that "Apollo has heard their prayers, and promises his protection if they offer him the hospitality of Oebalus's kingdom". Hyacinthus reminds his father that Apollo can deliver the balm to the wounds they've received.
Melia is delighted by Apollo's arrival, as she can detect the god through his shepherd's attire, and can see the brilliance and majesty he brings along. She explains that she's already given her heart to the god revered by her father. Apollo declares his joy at her infatuation.
He also assures Hyacinthus of his true friendhip if Hyacinthus can love him too. Zephyrus, in aparte, reveals that his jealousy is aroused: Apollo is taking his love (i.e. Hyacinthus) away.**

No. 3 Aria: "Iam pastor Apollo" (Apollo = mezzo CORNELIA WULKOPF)

[Apollo expresses his gratitude and reiterates his promised protection. The first section of the aria comes back only as a ritornello, not a repeat. Apollo uses simplified bucolic music fit for a god who presents himself as only a humble "pastor". No grandiloquence is needed.]

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**The recitative "Amare numquid Filia, haud dubito" (Oebalus, Melia) -- "I have no doubt, daughter, that you can love..." "is remarkable for its descending bass line."
Oebalus informs Melia that Apollo wishes to marry her. He's given his agreement, but it remains her choice. What does she say? Of course she is honored and overjoyed by Apollo's decision. Oebalus admits that this also brings happiness and glory to his whole house. Melia is eager to talk to Apollo, but, she wonders, where is he? Oebalus tells her that Apollo, together with Hyacinthus and Zephyrus, are in the field playing at throwing the discus.**

No. 4 Aria: "Laetari, iocari" (Melia = soprano ARLEEN AUGER)***

"My lot is to rejoice, be merry, enjoy the honour done to me by the god, now that excellent Hymen, with torches and garlands, joins the happy, blessed marriage knot and brings me joy. Beloved by a god, I am called a goddess. I am traipsing through the stars and walking on clouds. Cities and kingdoms honor me, fauns and satyrs revere me. "

[Melia's brilliant aria. She sings her joy at married love with Apollo, and her fame at being treated like a goddess. The aria is loaded with full coloratura of the highest "virtuosity", calling for an expert singer. It is astonishing that the schoolboy singing Melia's part at the premiere in 1767 could have handled such a demanding aria. Abert finds in it a "reminiscence of Handel"]

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**Recitative: "Rex! de salute filii est actum; iacet Hyacinthus" (Zephyrus, Oebalus, Melia) -- "King, the life of your son is over; Hyacinthus is lying dead."

Zephyrus now enters and announces the death of Hyacinthus in the discus game, and blames Apollo.
Melia cannot believe the story: Apollo wanted to marry her, and he would have planned the death of her brother? But Zephyrus was witness to the deed, and fled to avoid the same fate. Oebalus bemoans such reward for his hospitality. Melia can no longer think of marrying Apollo.
Now Zephyrus is astonished: "Quid audio? an coniugia meditatur Deus?" -- "What do I hear now? This god is planning a wedding?" He is surprised that Melia has been promised to Apollo: Apollo had already stolen the love of Hyacinthus, and now he also wants to steal the love of Melia!
Zephyrus explains that Hyacinthus had gone to check where his throw had fallen, when Apollo happened to throw his discus, hitting Hyacinthus in the head. Oebalus asks Zephyrus to banish Apollo, but Zephyrus protests, arguing this is Oebalus's prerogative. Oebalus leaves, rushing to the river to check on his son, and orders Melia to banish Apollo.

Zephyrus is now left alone with Melia. He sees his golden chance to win her for himself. Abert: "Zephyrus expresses the hopes aroused in him by this latest turn of events." Melia is puzzled: Nothing has offended Apollo, then why would he kill Hyacinthus whom he loved? How could he hope to marry his sister? Zephyrus eagerly keeps maligning Apollo: he is a fallen god, banished from heaven, in order to spare the gods his foul moods. Melia is not convinced, hope and fear trouble her undecided heart. Zephyrus repeats that Apollo is a killer, and this makes him, Zephyrus, a better choice for Melia, as he's been so loyal to her, and deserves her love. Melia demurs, and Zephyrus asks her: Why does she spurn him?**

No. 5 Aria: "En! duos conspicis" (Zephyrus = contralto HANNA SCHWARZ)***

"You see two men here, a loving one, an evil one. To which one do you offer your hand? Apollo will kill you, Zephyrus will love you. The murderer of the brother, still with bloodied hands, will torment his sweet sister. What is the wise choice?"

[His duplicity is conveyed by descending chromatic passages, with the orchestra in unison half-notes, creating a dark and "sinister" mood (Ian Page), while Zephyrus is asking Melia which lover she prefers. ]

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**Apollo is seen approaching. Zephyrus wants to flee, but Melia asks him: Where is his famous loyalty? She orders Zephyrus to stick around.
Apollo enters, and explodes in rage, his music betraying his dignity and his anger: "Here you are, scoundrel, scheming bastard! Not only did you take my friend Hyacinthus, but now you want to steal my bride. Then, have a taste of a god's anger. Winds, blow here and Aeolus, take this criminal to your cave." Zephyrus is metamorphosed into a wind.

Melia is furious. She interprets this action as a sign of Apollo's guilt, he now is a double killer. She pours out her anger and indignation: "Do you want to fill our kingdom with dead bodies: you kill my brother, then Zephyrus Are you planning to kill me and my father?"
Apollo tries to plead and calm her down, but Melia does not want to hear any more. She refuses to listen to Apollo's entreaties and banishes him: Apollo must leave the kingdom. Apollo sends a prayer of desperation to Zeus ("Göttervater" -- the father of the gods) to stop sending his bolts. How much longer must he, Apollo, endure his torment? Abert finds "considerable expressive force" in this passage.**

No. 6 Duetto: "Discede crudelis!" (Melia, Apollo)***

- Melia: "Go away! I am so relieved! Go away, you fill me with fear."
- Apollo: "Trust me! I am loyal, loving, and innocent. Do not lose your friend and don't reject him".
Left alone, Apollo laments his fate, and plans to stay on Earth, and to lie low until the anger from heaven has blown over.

[Melia, believing that Apollo was the killer, rejects him and his offer of marriage. Apollo assures her of his love and reproaches her her cruelty. This is a duet of conflict, recrimination and protest, with remarkable expression of the characters, their misunderstandings and cross-purpose intentions.
There's a subtle pizzicato in the bass part. The melody will be reused in the andante (2d movement) of symphony #6 in F K. 43.
This duet is another highlight of the work. It is Mozart's second duet, the first one being "Jesu, was hab Ich getan", in "Grabmusik" K. 42, written a few weeks earlier.]

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**Tragic recitativo accompagnato: "Non est -- Quis ergo, Nate! dic, si Patrem amas, quis te peremit?" (Hyacinthus, Oebalus) -- "It was not he -- Who then, my son! If you love your father, say who killed you?

This recitative again starts with "considerable expressive force". Oebalus has found Hyacinthus still alive on the banks of the river Eurotas, able, in his dying breath, to reveal the truth, that he was hit by Zephyrus. (Note that Hyacinthus does not give a reason for Zephyrus's crime. There's no mention that the killing was due to Zephyrus's jealousy over Hyacinthus's infatuation with Apollo). Oebalus does not doubt his son, that Apollo is innocent, and he explodes in rage at Zephyrus's treachery, crying vengeance.**

No. 7 Aria: "Ut navis in aequore luxuriante" (Oebalus)***

"Like a ship on a raging sea is tossed by the waves over mounts and vales, now close to the clouds, now down in the depths close to Tartarus, so pours out of my raging heart my boiling blood throughout my body. My rage lifts me up, my pain depresses me, and both keep tormenting my heart without abating."

[Oebalus's grief is fathomless. There is some sublime music for strings and horns when Hyacinthus dies. This No. 7 is another very powerful aria, haunted by the image of rolling waves. This is some difficult music for the tenor, who has to alternate between grief and anger, magnifying his turbulent emotions, like a ship tossed by the waves. Impossible not to be moved by the gut-wrenching, relentless, expression of the mourning father Oebalus, "with flashing violin scales magnificently capturing the turbulent sea imagery" (Ian Page)]

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**Melia appears. She recounts that she's seen Apollo kill a second time, by taking her friend Zephyrus's life, and that she has banished him. Oebalus sets her straight: It was not Apollo who killed Hyacinthus, but Zephyrus, and Apollo, justifiably, had to punish the real murderer. She must believe what Oebalus's son declared as he was dying. They all have been victims of Zephyrus's treachery, and now they have wronged the god Apollo, who never leaves any affront unpunished. Melia wishes she could call him back. Oebalus laments the dark fate that has befallen them.**

No. 8 Duetto: "Natus cadit, atque Deus" (Oebalius, Melia)***

- Oebalus: "My son is dead, and the god, without my knowing it, without my wanting it, is deeply offended and has left. Without his protection, this kingdom cannot survive. God, oh God, I pray you, return to us."
- Melia: "My brother is dead, and my lover, on your order, with my regret, is gone. A bride without a groom, whom can she then love now? Do not punish the woman, God, oh, return to us."

[Both Oebalus and Melia lament and mourn the death of Hyacinthus, but are terrified at their wrong behavior towards Apollo. They fear the future and the wrath of the god whom they have wronged.
This is a sublime andante duetto, the crown of the opera, of ineffable and intense beauty. The music is most magnificent and deeply moving. One of the great duettos of Mozart, and of all opera. Abert finds "real warmth and life" in this aria, and notes the masterly scoring of "muted first violins, pizzicato second violins and divided violas", while "cello and bass are gently supported by horns, creating an exquisite texture" (Ian Page).

But Abert, encumbered with heavy scholarship, can't escape a somewhat blasé tone: "and while the saccharine wistfulness and little chromatic sighs of the melodic writing infallibly recall J.C. Bach, the expression is natural and genuine".

In truth, the duet is a masterpiece of breathtaking beauty worthy of any consummate composer. Adeline Muller (A Köchel a Day) notes: The "floaty feeling" is similar to "Soave sia il vento" in Così fan tutte; and "the first violas break away from their accompaniment texture and take up Oebalus' line, so that it's a true duet in the orchestra as well as in the voices." This is Mozart's first "cantabile", expressing the deep melancholy of the slow movements that will reappear in the later keyboard concertos (Brampton Classical Opera). The Salzburg conductor Josef Wallnig enthuses: "IT'S SO FAR-REACHING AND INTIMATE...IT HAS AN INCREDIBLY POWERFUL UNITY, DRAMATICALLY, THEATRICALLY, AND IN TERMS OF SUSPENSE, THAT I ALWAYS FIND MYSELF DEEPLY MOVED BY THIS DUET."]

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**Recitativo accompagnato: "Rex! me redire cogit" (Apollo, Oebalus, Melia)

Apollo reappears! "I have come back for the love of Hyacinthus. Allow my presence to strengthen your kingdom." "Disce, quid Numen queat! Hyacinthe, surge!" -- "Watch the power of the gods! Hyacinthus, arise! Cover thy grave with the flowers that carry your name."

Hyacinthus's body sinks into the ground which gets covered with flowers. Oebalus and Melia are overawed, and multiply their excuses: they've been deceived by Zephyrus and prompted to make rash decisions. Apollo reassures them and, as a tru

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Mozart: Apollo et Hyacinthus, Vol. 26