Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Apollo and Hyacinthus Overture

Apollo and Hyacinthus K.38 is the first full, three act opera composed by the eleven-year-old prodigy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, created for his fellow youth at the school of the University of Salzburg. The libretto, derived from a Greek myth by Ovid, was written in Latin by Father Rufinus Widl and was designed to serve as light relief at its premiere on May 13, 1767 at Salzburg University's Great Hall, presented between the acts of the priests' more serious drama, Clementia Croesi. Most of the lead roles were sung by the schoolboys aged only slightly older than Mozart himself.