Mozart in Vienna, 1781-1791.

Music is the least referential and, therefore, the least political of the arts. Mozart, one of history's greatest composers, has rarely if ever been considered a political thinker. More often he is described as a man who, although a musical genius, was not otherwise especially bright, had a troubled marriage, lived in poverty, and spoke with obscenities. Volkmar Braunbehrens does not dispute Mozart's scatology; indeed, he quotes samples from Mozart's letters. But aside from this, Braunbehrens has written a revisionist biography in which Mozart is interested in the political issues of his day, happily married to a capable woman, and even financially successful.

Mozart was not bound by the usual prejudices of his day. (Empress Maria Theresa, who died in 1780, the year before Mozart moved to Vienna, "even went so far as to have a screen placed between herself and her [Jewish] visitors so she would not have to look at them.") Among Mozart's friends, neighbors, and associates were a surprising number of Jews and converts from Judaism to Catholicism. Lorenzo Da Ponte, who was born a Jew and was for a time a Catholic priest, wrote the librettos for three of Mozart's operas: The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Cosi Fan Tutte.

Music may be quite apolitical, but opera, which combines music with theater, can easily provide a forum for the expression of a composer's views. Mozart was a Freemason, even after Emperor Joseph II proclaimed the Freemasonry Act of 1785. (Braunbehrens writes: "Mozart's loyalty at a time when most members were fleeing the order testifies to his unshakable optimism and his devotion to the work of the lodge.") So was Emanuel Schikaneder, librettist for The Magic Flute, an opera whose plot includes references to Masonic ritual and belief Braunbehrens's discussion of possible meanings of this opera is one of the most thought-provoking sections of the book. The "Temple of Wisdom," which may represent Masonic ideals, is ruled by Sarastro, who is viewed by his subjects (and generally by the audience as well) as the embodiment of Good, Braunbehrens views Sarastro as an ambiguous rather than a good character. (I would describe him as totally evil.) Braunbehrens suggests that Mozart and Schikaneder may have written "a private memorandum to Freemasons," urging them to fight their own authoritarianism. Without disagreeing, I would offer another interpretation: Sarastro may also represent Joseph II, the enlightened despot whose rule coincided with Mozart's years in Vienna.

In The Marriage of Figaro, based on a play that was banned in Paris, "bourgeois sensibilities and moral ideals were compared favorably with aristocratic frivolity and misuse of power," Braunbehrens writes. In The Abduction from the Seraglio, the character Blonde calls herself "an Englishwoman, born to freedom," reflecting Mozart's description of himself as an "arch-Englishman." But is there any political message in Cosi Fan Tutte? It is the story of two men, engaged to two sisters. Each man, honoring a bet, tries to win the heart of the other's fiancee. Braunbehrens recognizes that the opera is too goodthe characters too real, the music too moving-for such a silly plot. "Cosi Fan Tutte insistently portrays the ambivalence of human emotions at the risk of being amoral." Like all of Mozart's operas, he writes, it questions "unwritten aesthetic, social, and political laws." It does, perhaps more than Braunbehrens suggests, for the opera makes musical sense only if each woman falls in love with her sister's boyfriend. The sisters do not sing duets with their fiances; when paired with the wrong men, they make beautiful music. In fact, Mozart himself first fell in love with one sister in the Weber family, Aloysia, but eventually married another, Constanze. Cos! Fan Tutte may be his most nearly autobiographical work.

Mozart in Vienna is a meandering but provocative and well-documented study. The author's revisionist theories never contradict the facts; they are not, however, the only views that can be drawn from the abundant but inconclusive data presented. And to the listener it doesn't altogether matter. The reality of musical experience exists in its, own plane. Though tyrants may, fear it, most music remains apolitical, and whether Figaro, the character, is a revolutionary or a wiseguy is of little importance; Mozart's music is what makes Figaro, the opera, great.