ABSTRACT
In an oft-quoted passage concerning an aria composed for the tenor Anton Raaff, Mozart expresses unmistakable professional pride in his musical tailoring. There is a working copy of Le nozze di Figaro, now in Florence, that Alan Tyson has tentatively associated with the 1789 revival in Vienna, and therefore with Mozart himself. This source is one of many manuscripts of Viennese origin from the period that contains a revised version of 'Dove sono', the Countess's Act 3 aria. Transmitted in keyboard reduction, the aria seems to show Mozart tinkering, in effect, with Anfossi's original version. Mozart ultimately reworked both text and music in the final version of the aria, 'Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio', with optimum results. Mozart composed his music specifically for the singers: at the least, the vocal line was crafted to their needs; at the most, the singer could provide the inspiration that determined the character of the music.
