Betulia Liberata KV118

The material for Mozart’s azione sacra is taken from the Old Testament book of Judith, the story of the beautiful Israelite who steals into the enemy camp of the Assyrians and decapitates their sleeping commander, Holofernes.

Often called a stroke of genius by the fifteen-year-old Mozart, Betulia Liberata brooks comparison with his early operas in every respect. But Mozart was evidently concerned to distinguish between an azione sacra and an azione teatrale in the music itself, e.g. in the accompanied recitatives and the sacred aura of the final chorus. Performance material available for hire.

• First vocal scoreof Mozart’s Betulia Liberata.
• Easy to play Piano reduction.
• Clear and uncluttered appearance on the page.
• Original Italian words underlaid with a new German translation.
• Bilingual preface in German and English.