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This project of the Mozart Society of America aims to make available full texts of the early biographies of Mozart on the MSA web site. Our goal is to provide convenient access to the biographical literature that has shaped our view of Mozart's life and work. See the EMBP for more information.
The Autobiography of Ludwig Fischer, Mozart's First Osmin
Portrait of Luwig Fischer
Courtesy of ÖNB/Wien
(click for full size)
In January 2011 the Mozart Society of America published The Autobiography of Ludwig Fischer, Mozart's First Osmin, by Paul Corneilson. The bass Ludwig Fischer (1745–1825) created several important roles, including Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail(1782). Around 1792 he wrote an autobiography with anecdotes about his singing teacher Anton Raaff, his travels through Europe, and some of the operas he sang in. This book includes a facsimile of Fischer's manuscript, a transcription, the first complete English translation, an introduction, and commentary. Also included are piano-vocal scores of five of the arias Fischer sang: "Freund, zweifle nicht" from Anton Schweitzer's Alceste,"Wenn das Silber deiner Haare" from Ignaz Holzbauer's Günther von Schwarzburg, "Bei meiner Seel, dies wäre viel" from Antonio Salieri's Der Rauchfangkehrer, "Solche hergelauf'ne Laffen" from Mozart's Entführung, and "Dirai che di pace" from Johann Friedrich Reichardt's Brenno, as well as a song by Fischer himself, "Der Kritikaster und der Trinker." This book, which provides a comprehensive portrait of one of the most famous basses of the eighteenth century, is available for purchase from Amazon.
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