A Newly-Discovered Manuscript of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte from the Copy Shop of Emanuel Schikaneder's Theater auf der Wieden

Buch, David (2004) A Newly-Discovered Manuscript of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte from the Copy Shop of Emanuel Schikaneder's Theater auf der Wieden. Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 45 (3-4). pp. 269-279. ISSN 0039-3266

Text smus.45.2004.3-4.1.pdf Restricted to Repository staff only until 31 October 2024. Download (8MB)

Abstract

A Viennese manuscript of the first act of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte recently surfaced in Budapest. The title page indicates that it was sold by the actor, singer and theatre copyist, Kaspar Weiß in 1796, and bears the name “Theater auf der Wieden” in Weiß's handwriting. This is the only known score with a clear connection to the theatre for which Mozart composed his singspiel. It was probably based on the theatre's score, which was certainly copied from Mozart's autograph. Upon close investigation the Budapest manuscript reveals a number of deviations from the autograph, variants that suggest something of a performing tradition that may in fact date back to Mozart himself, who conducted the first performances. At least one other Viennese copy of DieZauberflöte exhibits similar peculiarities, indicating a path of transmission that complements the one going back to Constanze Mozart, who sold copies based on the autograph.

Actions (login required)

Edit Item