"Meeting Mozart" for his birthday

Today is the birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. My favourite composer and in my opinion the very best opera composer of all time. Which is why he is my favourite composer (and why I think he will always be the most accomplished classical musician of all time, sorry for the controversial opinion, but not sorry and take that Ludwig). Anyway, since today it is his birthday, I celebrate by listening to his music, but also reading about him. So this is the book I have been reading these last few days in preparation for the anniversary of his birth: Meeting Mozart: A Novel Drawn From the Secret Diaries of Lorenzo Da Ponte, by Howard Jay Smith. Grosso modo, it is a fictionalize account of his relationship and collaboration with librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. It's pretty nice so far. Both Mozart and Da Ponte's lives are the stuff of legend, so they work well as prime matter for fiction (even if it is often fanfiction). In any case, I encourage you to Mozart up your life today. And to celebrate on this blog, I am sharing a duet from Le Nozze di Figaro. Sung by legendary Diana Damrau and Golda Schultz (who is playing the role of the Countess at the Met at the moment). So anyway, happy birthday Maestro and happy Mozarting everyone!