The New Criterion

In 1801, some ten years after Mozart’s death, The Magic Flute was performed in Paris as Les Mystères d’Isis (The Mysteries of Isis). It bore little resemblance to the Flute we know today: it was spiced up with arrangements of arias and ensemble pieces from The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and, for good measure, bits of a Haydn symphony. Far from being shunned by a critical and discerning public, Les Mystères was wildly successful, so much so that a quarter century passed before Parisian audiences got to hear the real thing.

Across the Channel, The Abduction from the Seraglio and other Mozart operas fared little better in high-spirited mutilations by conductor-impresarios like Sir Henry Bishop. Despite outraged shrieks from the likes of Berlioz, musical vivisection was popular during much of the early nineteenth century; Mozart, revered as he was, was no e ...

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