Mozart in Manhattan is a one act musical written by Scott Lawton (music) and Olaf Strieb (text). It was produced by the Gandersheimer Domfestspiele in July of 2005. It dramatizes two stations in the life of Lorenzo Da Ponte: a) his beginnings as an Italian teacher in 1809 following being "discovered" by Clement Clarke Moore at Riley's Bookstore on Broadway, and b) the euphoric celebration following the American premiere of "Don Giovanni" on March 23, 1826. In the Gandersheim program notes, the authors categorize the work as an "Opernkrimi", or an "operatic detective story". Prominent themes are previously unknown aspects of Da Ponte's relationship with Mozart, events leading to the composer's death and Da Ponte's own efforts to promote Mozart's work in New York. A recurrent thread is the disparity between Da Ponte's fame as Mozart's opera librettist in Vienna and his relative anonymity and poverty in the decades which followed. It is a work for two persons: Lorenzo da Ponte (at 58 and later at 76 years of age) and a younger student Maria who first learns Italian at his "Academy for Young Ladies", and who later then reappears at his house to pay her respects following the [ - ]

Mozart in Manhattan is a one act musical written by Scott Lawton (music) and Olaf Strieb (text)... [ + ]