Recitative “Ah, da me s’allontani” (K. 715) — doubtful introduction to “No, che non sei capace” (K. 419)
av Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The accompanied recitative “Ah, da me s’allontani” (K. 715) is a short, dubiously attributed scene for soprano and orchestra, apparently intended to lead directly into Mozart’s insertion aria No, che non sei capace, K. 419. The Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum lists the work as “doubtful,” yet transmitted in an autograph source, and dates it to Vienna in March–April 1791.
What Is Known
The Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum catalogues “Ah, da me s’allontani” as an extant recitativo strumentato (accompanied recitative) for soprano and orchestra, designed as a preface to the concert aria No, che non sei capace, K. 419, and explicitly flags its authenticity as doubtful.[1] In the same record, the work is dated to Vienna, March–April 1791, with a first performance given as 16 April 1791.[1]
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As context, K. 419 itself is securely Mozart’s: an insertion aria for Pasquale Anfossi’s Il curioso indiscreto, composed in Vienna in 1783, and transmitted with a festive scoring (including trumpets and timpani).[2] Modern scholarship has noted that an unattributed accompanied recitative survives in Viennese theatrical materials immediately preceding K. 419—precisely the sort of documentary situation that can leave authorship ambiguous.[3]
Musical Content
As an accompanied recitative, K. 715 likely aims to intensify the dramatic temperature before the aria’s rapid-fire refusals and bravura edge. The Mozarteum’s record gives the recitative’s key as C major—a tonal choice that can sharpen the rhetorical “public” character of an orchestral recitative and prepare the bright, ceremonial palette associated with K. 419’s scoring.[1][4]
Placed in Mozart’s Vienna of early 1791—months of concentrated theatrical work (Die Zauberflöte was already taking shape, La clemenza di Tito lay ahead)—such a recitative would fit a late style increasingly fluent in quick character-definition, vivid orchestral punctuation, and speech-like vocal declamation. Whether or not Mozart truly wrote it, the concept is thoroughly “Mozartian”: a compressed dramatic hinge, turning spoken-like agitation into the poised virtuosity of the aria that follows.
[1] Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum, Köchel-Verzeichnis entry for K. 715 (status, dating, key, authenticity, first performance, source note).
[2] Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum, Köchel-Verzeichnis entry for K. 419 (aria title, insertion context, scoring as listed).
[3] Richard Wistreich, “Attributing Mozart (i): three accompanied recitatives,” Cambridge Opera Journal (discussion of an unattributed accompanied recitative preceding K. 419 in Viennese manuscript materials).
[4] IMSLP work page for *No, no, che non sei capace*, K. 419 (basic work data and instrumentation summary).