Audiences know the name Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but far fewer know the story of his sister, Maria Anna “Nannerl” Mozart, a gifted musician and composer whose talents rivaled those of her famous brother.
Her story takes center stage when “The Other Mozart,” an acclaimed one-woman play created by Sylvia Milo, comes to Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3 as part of the William & Mary Presents! series.
The production, which has toured internationally for more than a decade, tells the true story of Nannerl Mozart, a child prodigy who, with her brother, earned critical praise as a keyboard virtuoso. But constrained by the expectations placed on women in the 18th century, her career and compositions gradually disappeared from public memory.
Drawing from actual letters exchanged among members of the Mozart family, Milo’s play combines humor, heartbreak and historical insight to bring Nannerl back into the spotlight.
“Imagine an 11-year-old girl, performing the most difficult sonatas and concertos of the greatest composers, on the harpsichord or fortepiano, with precision, with incredible lightness, with impeccable taste,” wrote the Augsburger Intelligenz in 1763. “It was a source of wonder to many.”
The performance also has a meaningful connection to William & Mary through Joshua Rose, assistant teaching professor of theatre.
Before joining William & Mary’s faculty, Rose served as lighting designer and technical consultant for “The Other Mozart,” helping to shape the visual world that has become one of the production’s most celebrated elements. He toured with the show as it traveled across the United States, contributing to a production that has been translated into four languages and performed hundreds of times worldwide.
“Being able to share this production, with its long life and international reach, with students is an honor. Just as the words have been translated for different languages, the lighting design has had to adapt to different spaces.” Rose said. “The work demands collaboration, innovation and adaptation, all of which are central to how we approach performance at William & Mary.”
A lighting designer, scenic designer and projection/media artist, Rose’s professional work spans theatre, dance, opera, circus arts, concerts and architectural installations. His designs have appeared at major venues including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts.
In “The Other Mozart,” the production’s visual design plays a critical role in telling Nannerl’s story. The entire performance unfolds within a monumental 18-foot period gown that covers the stage, serving simultaneously as costume, set and metaphor. Designed by Magdalena Dabrowska of Poland’s National Theatre, the dress becomes both a breathtaking work of art and a symbol of the social limitations that confined women of Nannerl’s era.
Rose’s lighting design works in concert with the set and performance to create what critics have described as an immersive theatrical experience. Audiences encounter clouds of dusting powder, the scent of period perfume and the glow of candlelit aesthetics that evoke the elegance and restrictions of 18th-century European society.
Alongside selections by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and composer Marianna Martines, a contemporary of Nannerl who also challenged gender barriers in music, the score incorporates instruments Nannerl would have used, including clavichords, bells and music boxes, as well as everyday objects such as teacups and fans, creating an imaginative soundscape rooted in her world.
In addition to receiving Drama Desk and Off-Broadway Alliance nominations for Outstanding Solo Performance and Original Music, the show’s impact has extended beyond the stage, inspiring scholarly conversations about women composers and sparking an annual symposium on Maria Anna Mozart and women in music at Salzburg’s Mozarteum University.
For William & Mary audiences, the production offers both a compelling historical narrative and an opportunity to connect with the work of a faculty member whose professional career has reached stages around the world. Students will participate in a master class with the playwright and star Milo on Oct. 2.
In recovering Nannerl Mozart’s story, the play invites audiences to reconsider who gets remembered, who gets forgotten and how many remarkable voices remain hidden in the margins of history.
Tickets can be purchased online
Susan Corbett, Communications Specialist