Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

"In my life I have never seen anything of its kind, more beautiful... It is not strictly a theater, but a room with boxes, built on the type of opera houses. Where it should be the stage there is a forum for the performing artist; behind it runs a gallery that resembles a series of boxes and is usable by spectators". This is what Leopold Mozart wrote to his wife January 26, 1770, ten days before the performance of his thirteen year old son at the Bibiena theatre. It was the child prodigy’s first trip to Italy: he stopped in Rovereto and Verona, spent a week in Mantua, accompanied by a letter of recommendation by the Count Giorgio d'Arco. A prominent audience attended the concert on the 16th; amidst splendid garments and hairstyles, Wolfgang performed wearing a simple crimson gown.