Rousseau wrote in the Lettre sur la musique française (1753): “any music draws its main character from the language”. Language is the most direct expression of the culture of a people and the elements that contribute to defining the culture of a people in history, jointly contribute to expressing the foundations of cultural identity.

Italian opera contributed to the diffusion of the Italian language throughout the world and music was the vector of cultural identity even before Italy was politically unified.

Mozart’s trip to Italy was not a simple musical experience, it was a life experience with a strong value that he himself was able to underline. Mozart learned Italian as a child from his father, in a completely spontaneous way and also used it outside the musical sphere in family and epistolary contexts.

A testimony by Lorenzo Megalotti from 1675 reveals that the learning of German was not necessary at the court of Vienna, since Italian was commonly spoken in high society and that the ladies of the court used it not only to communicate with Italians but also with each other. Later, the famous librettists Metastasio and Da Ponte testified to the possibility of living in Vienna without having to learn German.

The use of the Italian language in Vienna in the 17th and 18th centuries is an example of how Italian culture has been the vehicle for the diffusion of the language.

Through the musical program and the explanatory interventions, we aim to trace a historical path that illustrates this development and that recalls through a live performance the idea of cultural diffusion that is close to our hearts.

Speakers and interpreters: 
Carolina Ida Domenica Mattioda, soprano
Lorenzo Turchi-Floris, orchestra conductor