Prima la musica e poi le parole

Hardback edition of the full score for Antonio Salieri's Prima La Musica E Poi Le Parole.

A memorable musical competition commissioned by the Emperor Joseph II took place on 7 February 1786 as part of a festival in the orangery of the Schönbrunn palace. A German Singspiel ensemble performed Mozart’s Schauspieldirektor whilst Antonio Salieri’s Prima La Musica E Poi Le Parole was performed by the Italian court singers and musicians.

This charming opera satire belongs to the genre of 'metamelodramma' in which the opera itself becomes the subject of the action. The people who are part of an opera production, forexample the librettist, composer and prima donna, appear as characters on the stage and are presented in a humorous self-reflection. In this ‘theatre about theatre’ Salieri parodies the music from Giuseppe Sarti’s Giulio Sabino in his insert arias, thus playing on the music which was totally familiar with the audience of the time. By reflecting on the musical-dramatic style of that period and discussing whether the word or the music should take priority, this masterpiece is considered to be an early forerunner to Richard Strauss' Capriccio.