# The Ambassador



## Andrea Luchesi (Aug 2, 2007)

why would the Danes choose Mozart as their representative? Knowing, as they did, who he really was? For many good reasons, among them:
- He had an intimate knowledge of the Hapsburg court.
- He already had a wife & kids, who were settled nearby.
- He was damaged goods. He had previously fled Vienna for good, if somewhat obscure reasons. This meant that in any Danish-Austrian showdown he had no choice but remain loyal to the Danes.
- In a crisis, his intimate knowledge of the court & its principals could prove decisive for the Danish government.
- Failure to fulfill his duties could be catastrophic for Mozart and his family. If the Danes were to reveal his true identity, and then expel him as ambassador, he would have to face Viennese authorities. While some in Vienna may have known who Georg Nikolaus Nissen really was, as long as the Danes said otherwise, he was their property and therefore untouchable. Diplomatic immunity & all that.

Additionally, Mozart, like Casanova, was a seasoned traveler. He is at ease in new and strange situations, he knows how to present himself to people, he knows what they will expect of him. Casanova in fact spent much of his life as an ambassador.

As ambassador, did Mozart need to speak Danish? No. In fact, the Danes would probably have preferred he did not. Anything Copenhagen needs to tell him can be translated. If Mozart cannot read the Danish cables & briefs that cross his desk, so much the better. He is easier to control that way.


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## Andrea Luchesi (Aug 2, 2007)

There is evidence of a secret tribunal against Mozart during the final year of his life. The subject of the tribunal may have been The Marriage of Figaro, and for all I know the proceedings may have been instigated by a jealous husband, the fall-out from one of Mozart's casual affairs. If this speculation is true, the consequences for Mozart would not have been pleasant, and may have given rise to the temptation of flight.

We should step back a moment & consider what Mozart's life had been like, from his perspective. Why would Mozart fake death and in the process, give up his splendid career for a life of insecurity & obscurity?

Because in reality, Mozart had been ground down, first by the unrealistic, unstoppable demands of his father, then by the necessity of going on with it as a young adult. Mozart is described as a child prodigy, but that no longer means a lot to us. In modern terms, Mozart was a child star. A mega-star. In fact, like many such children, he was often little more than a trained monkey, running endlessly in a cage. When I first saw the movie, Amadeus, I was repulsed by Tom Hulce's characterization of Mozart: Brash, vulgar and cheap. Now I think differently. Now I think of all the child stars who cracked under the pressure, acted out, went into drugs & died. Again & again. It is a horrible life that few survive.

One of the few ways to avoid the burnout trap is to find a mate. Someone who loves you despite yourself, someone stable & with brains. Mozart was lucky. He found Constanze.

At first, I imagine it was enough just for her to be there with him, but increasingly over their married life, just being there was not enough. The catalyst may have been the six pregnancies, the four dead children, the two surviving boys, the incredible stress on Constanze herself. By 1791, one way or another, Mozart and family had to get away from life as they knew it. Life as Mozart had always known it.

The belief that Mozart actually died in 1791 is, at bottom, a belief that Mozart was a weak & helpless fool, spinning out of control. For a man of his talent, for a man of his experience, for a man of his intelligence, this is not credible.


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## Andrea Luchesi (Aug 2, 2007)

It is just as realistic to suggest that, facing crisis, he & Constanze set about to plan a new life, and when their preparations were complete, they put them into effect. This has the additional virtue of putting Mozart at the center of his own world, master of his fate. For those of you who are skeptical, which would you rather have: A weak, helpless Mozart, or one firmly in command of his life?

Flight, which is what a faked death amounts to, was something Mozart could easily do. He grew up on the road. He knows how to travel, he knows where his papers are, he knows where to get more, he knows who has fakes (and how much they cost), he knows how to cross borders & avoid inspection if need be. He knows how to draw attention to himself, he knows how to travel invisibly.

Not only could Mozart have faked his death, it would have presented him with few technical challenges. So far as his future employment prospects are concerned, if we consider Mozart as a child star, we immediately think of other stars who burned out & took up diplomacy. Among them, Shirley Temple, Audrey Hepburn, Bono, and, (a bit further afield) Lady Di & Ronald Reagan. An early stage career seems to be good training for the diplomatic field. Mozart has the additional advantage of his travels. Knowing where faked papers can be had can be very useful to a diplomat.


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