“My Prague people understand me,” said Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart after the extraordinarily successful premiere of Don Giovanni in Prague. The time he spent with the people of Prague was one of the happiest periods in his short life, not least because he had close friends in the city and the locals were enthusiastic about his music. Today, Prague is still full of places where Mozart’s music resounds and where we can feel the spirit of the musical genius. The first invitation to Prague found Mozart in Vienna, despondent over the death of his second child, his financial situation and the intrigues of Viennese society. Prague, however, was full of singing, dancing and carnival festivities when it received him in January 1787. Mozart stayed with his wife Constance at the palace of Count Thun and spent that same evening at a ball given in his honour in the company of Baron Bretfeld, likewise a great lover of music. At the ball, Mozart witnessed the immense popularity of The Marriage of Figaro and wrote a letter to Vienna about his experience: “All the people leapt around in such heartfelt delight to music from my Figaro – for here they are talking about nothing except Figaro; nothing is played, tooted, sung and whistled except Figaro: no one goes to any opera except Figaro, certainly a great honour for me.” During the following four weeks he was literally drawn into social life and musical happenings; among other things, he managed to conduct his Symphony in D major, called the Prague Symphony; to finish writing Six German Dances at the palace of Count Pachta; to see The Marriage of Figaro at the Nostic Theatre under the direction of Jan Josef Strobach; and to conduct it in person three days later. Another nobleman with whom Mozart and his wife socialised in Prague was Count Christian Phillip Clam-Gallas. The music-loving count was himself an avid pianist and ran one of the most lavish music salons in Prague. Besides Mozart, he also supported Ludwig van Beethoven during his stay in Prague. Before departing for Vienna, Mozart signed an agreement with the Nostic Theatre’s impresario Pasquale Bondini and director Domenico Guardasoni for a new opera for the autumn season. Mozart’s second stay, in October and November of the same year, was marked entirely by the world premiere of Don Giovanni. With the score still unfinished, he settled first in the house U Tří zlatých lvů (At the Three Golden Lions) at Uhelný trh (the Coal Market) near the Nostic Theatre. His stay here is commemorated by a portrait relief and a white marble plaque above the first-storey windows. Soon, however, he accepted of the hospitality of his friends, the Dušek family, to finish the opera in the peace of their Bertramka villa. The Dušek couple and Mozart had first met during their visit to his native Salzburg 10 years earlier. The young Amadeus had immediately joined the large crowd admiring the singing skills and feminine charms of the twenty-three-year-old Josephine. He went on to compose the dramatic aria Ah, lo previdi (KV 272) for her. Ms Dušek sang it at the Salzburg Academy and was accompanied on the piano by Mozart himself. The warm friendship became more profound during Mozart’s stays in Prague. It was also thanks to this relationship that the now famous aria Bella mia fiamma, addio (Farewell, My Beautiful Flame) was written at Bertramka. It is said that Josephine imprisoned Mozart in the gazebo until he completed the aria he promised to write for her. The composer agreed to this on one condition: Josephine must sing the whole part flawlessly on the first attempt, otherwise he would tear it up. The singer obviously managed to do so despite the difficult passages.