The Salzburg Festival: A Brief History (2006)

Two incomplete opera buffo fragments composed by Mozart three years before Figaro, Lo Sposo Deluso (The Deluded Bridegroom), which details the travails of a deluded bridegroom and L'Oca del Cairo (The Goose from Cairo) about a girl imprisoned in a tower by her father, suffered from weak plots and librettos. Director Joachim Schlomer got round this by having a master of ceremonies in a non-singing role explaining the intricacies of the plots. Despite glorious ensembles and melodies from the mature Mozart, these operas never achieved popularity.