Der Schauspieldirektor (The Impressario) is a comic singspiel written by W.A. Mozart (1756-1791) as "a parody on the vanity of singers," who argue over status and pay.  Described by Mozart as "comedy with music," the composer wrote this short 30 minute singspiel to enter into a musical competition given before a small, private audience where Mozart’s German entry was performed at one end of the room while an Italian opera buffa by Antonio Salieri was performed at the opposite end. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 2.2.0.0: Timp: Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set).