Mozart's Al desio di chi t'adora, K. 577

Mozart composed the arias Un moto di gioia (K. 579) and Al desio di chi t'adora (K. 577) for a revival of The Marriage of Figaro, which took place in Vienna in 1789, three years after the premiere of the opera.  In all probability, they were demanded by the new diva who played the role of Susanna, Adriana Ferrarese del Bene.  While they make fine music for a concert, these arias are peculiar substitutions in the drama of the opera itself and are almost never heard in that context. 

Un moto di gioia replaced the aria Venite, inginocchiatevi in Act II, where Cherubino is being dressed up as a girl.  The second aria, Al desio di chi t'adora, with its unusual wind music for basset horns, bassoons and horns, replaced Susanna's famous aria Deh vieni.  To introduce the latter aria in a concert performance, one could well perform Susanna's preceding recitative Giunse alfin il momento, which will be familiar to those who know the opera and will give context for the substitute aria.  The author of the texts for these two arias is not known for certain but may well be Lorenzo da Ponte, the original librettist of Figaro. 

Mozart, Al desio di chi t'adora, K. 577