A cardinal point in the opera galaxy, Mozart has had his works staged by some of the leading stage directors on the contemporary operatic scene: Luc Bondy, Patrice Chéreau, Michael Haneke, Christoph Marthaler, Robert Carsen and, this year, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. All of them have provided us with original, surprising, often violent, but always enthralling interpretations of Mozart’s music.
Original as they are, the results of such approaches – often criticised for straying too far from librettos and scores – deserve to take their rightful place in the history of lyrical art: after all, the ways in which audiences receive works have changed considerably since the days when they put up with performances of The Marriage of Figaro that substituted Beaumarchais’ play for Da Ponte’s libretto, or when the third act of Don Giovanni was interrupted by an extraneous horn solo. It was only in the 19^th century that the nascent science of musicology made the score a text to be complied with, and one whose authenticity it would guarantee.

There can be no disputing that any masterpiece worth its salt generates countless interpretations depending on era and context. From this point of view, Mozart’s music continues to be an inexhaustible source of theatrical invention and innovation.