Prints and the Courtly World of Mozart January 28 to April 29, 2006, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums On January 28, the Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, will open Prints and the Courtly World of Mozart. Organized in celebration of the 250 th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Austrian, 1756-1791), this exhibition explores the courtly world of the composer through prints of the period, especially in works by French artist Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) and Jean-Honoré Fragonard (French, 1732 - 1806), selected from the museum's permanent collection.   Prints and the Courtly World of Mozart and its accompanying programs are part of a city-wide celebration of the musician that includes several performances at the Modlin Center for the Arts (see below). On view through April 29, 2006, the exhibition features twenty-five prints from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, including portraits of Mozart as a child prodigy and as an accomplished composer and performer. Scenes of European opera houses and salon concerts reveal the important role of music in society amidst the varying classes. Also included are images of people in the royal court, such as a print by Antonio Martini ( Italian, 1739- 1799) titled The Queen's Lady in Waiting (1777), which shows a woman wearing a formal gown with an interior structure of a corset and hoops, making the dress almost as wide as it is tall. A fanciful print from the eighteenth century by Nicolaus Valleta (Austrian, 1717-1780) shows the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa as a patroness of music, surrounded by adoring putti and classical figures.
A lithograph from the early 1800s titled The Mozart Family replicates a painting of the same subject by Johann-Nepomuk de la Croce (Austrian, 1736-1819), commissioned in 1780-1781 by Leopold Mozart (the young musician's father). Leopold is shown holding a violin and quill to represent his talents as a musician and writer, while his son (Wolfgang) and daughter (Nannerl) play a duet. The children are watched over by a portrait of their mother, who died in 1778, and who, like Leopold, traveled with the family and promoted Wolfgang's career. Prints and the Courtly World of Mozart and its accompanying programs were made possible in part with the generous support of the University's Cultural Affairs Committee. The exhibition was co-curated by Charles Johnson, Professor of Art History, Emeritus, Department of Art and Art History, University of Richmond, and Richard Waller, Executive Director, University Museums.   PROGRAMMING Friday, January 27, 2006, 7 - 9 p.m. 7 p.m., Lecture and performance, Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Center for the Arts Neumann Lectures on Music, Department of Music "Courtly Airs and Disgraces: Mozart and the Aristocratic Cultures of Eighteenth-Century Europe" Nicholas Till, Senior Lecturer and Director for the Center of Research in Opera and Music Theatre at University of Sussex, Brighton, England 8 to 9 p.m., Reception and preview of the exhibition Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, Modlin Center for the Arts As part of the Modlin Center's Mozart Marathon, the lecture on January 27 will also include live performances by University of Richmond music faculty. This event is presented by the University Museums in collaboration with the Modlin Center for the Arts and the Department of Music, University of Richmond. The following performances are presented by the Modlin Center for the Arts as part of the city-wide celebration of Mozart's birth. For ticket information and locations on campus, contact (804) 289-8980 or modlin.richmond.edu. Thursday, January 26, 2006, 12-1 pm Mozart Marathon Concert I Friday, January 27, 2006, 12-1 pm Mozart Marathon Concert II Friday, January 27, 2006, 7:00 pm Mozart Marathon Concert III (exhibition opening lecture, concert, and reception) Saturday, January 28, 2006, 2 pm Mozart Marathon Concert IV Wednesday, February 15, 2006, 7:30 pm Dawn Upshaw, soprano, and Gilbert Kalish, piano Monday, February 27, 2006, 7:30 pm Academy of St. Martin in the Fields with Gil Shaham, violin Wednesday, March 1, 2006, 7:30 pm Shanghai Quartet with Ying Huang, soprano and Anton Kuerti, piano Sunday, April 9, 2006, 3 pm University of Richmond Choir and Schola Cantorum presents Mozart's Requiem in d minor, K. 626 Tuesday, April 18-Saturday, April 22, 2006, 7:30 pm Saturday, April 21-Sunday, April 22, 2006, 2 pm University Players present Amadeus by Peter Shaffer, directed by Dorothy Holland