The Packard Humanities Institute and the International Mozarteum Foundation Launch a Facsimile Edition

Idomeneo, The Abduction from the Seraglio, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, The Magic Flute and La Clemenza di Tito: Mozart's seven "great" operas are a magnificent contribution to the musical stage and to world culture. They are still unequalled in their depth of characterization and musical expression.

Fortunately, all seven have come down to us virtually intact in Mozart's own hand. A few months before the Mozart anniversary celebrations get underway in 2006, the Packard Humanities Institute and the International Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg will join forces to launch a facsimile edition of all seven autograph scores. The volumes will be published within the span of a few months, beginning in the fall of 2005. Mozart scholars, libraries, and of course all lovers of Mozart's stage works will thus have an opportunity to acquire these priceless manuscripts in flawless reproductions. The project will also ensure that Mozart's legacy is preserved for posterity despite the vicissitudes of time.

To bring the project to fruition, the two institutions have forged an ideal working relationship with the various libraries where Mozart's manuscripts are located. The edition is headed by a committee consisting of Ulrich Konrad, David W. Packard, Wolfgang Rehm, and Christoph Wolff, with Dietrich Berke serving as managing editor. The renowned House of Bärenreiter, known throughout the world for its complete editions of the great composers (including Mozart), will be in charge of sales and marketing.

The physical appearance of the volumes will be superb, for the manuscripts will be digitalized at the cutting edge of technology, with razor-sharp resolution and complete fidelity to the originals. The printing will meet the most discerning demands on quality. All seven volumes will contain essays on literary and intellectual history by Hans Joachim Kreutzer as well as musicological introductions in German and English from acknowledged Mozart authorities.

The edition is scheduled to begin publication in the fall of 2005 and will be offered on subscription. Publication will be completed by mid-2006.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
The Seven Great Operas in Facsimile Editions of the Autograph Scores

A cooperative project of the Packard Humanities Institute and the International Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg.

Editorial Commission: Ulrich Konrad, David W. Packard, Wolfgang Rehm, Christoph Wolff. Managing Editor: Dietrich Berke

Participating libraries: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preussischer Kulturbesitz; Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris; The British Library, London; Biblioteka JagielloŸska, Kraków; and others

Sales and marketing: Bärenreiter-Verlag