When he composed Bastien und Bastienne in 1768, Mozart was just 12 years old and living in Vienna. In this, his first singspiel, half-sung and half-spoken, which his father assigned to him as “an operetta in German,” we can hear the joyous and graceful representation of a child’s feelings, punctuated by popular-sounding tunes. The libretto features just three characters. It is a very simple work, adapted from a play that was very popular in Vienna, “The Loves of Bastien and Bastienne,” a comic parody of a hit play by Jean Jacques Rousseau, “Le Devin de Village.” Commissioned by Dr Anton Mesmer, a friend of the young genius, this rustic score, full of charm and sensitivity, was first presented (according to Mozart’s first biographer and Constance’s second husband) in 1768 in the outdoor theatre of the famous Viennese hypnotist.