At thirteen years old, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a child prodigy who had captured the hearts of northern Europe, but his father Leopold was now determined to conquer Italy. Together, they made three visits there, the last when Mozart was sixteen. Father and son travelled from the theatres and concert salons of Milan to the church-filled streets of Florence and Rome, to Naples, poorer and more dangerous than the prosperous north, and to Venice, the carnivalesque birthplace of public opera. All the while Mozart was absorbing Italian culture, language, style and art, and honing his craft. He met the challenge of writing Italian opera for distinguished Italian singers and their audiences and provoked a variety of responses, from triumph and admiration to intrigue and hostility: in a way, these Italian years can be seen as a microcosm of his whole life. Mozart in Italy is evocative, beautifully written and based on a profound understanding of eighteenth-century classical music. In it acclaimed conductor Jane Glover reveals how what he experienced during these Italian journeys changed Mozart – and his music – for ever.

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