Studying Abroad in Italy

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was born in Salzburg, Austria, to a musical family where he and his sister, Nannerl, received musical training at a very young age. At 5 years old, Mozart could already read and write music; by age 6, he was writing compositions and was an accomplished keyboard musician. Escorted by his father, Leopold, Mozart and his sister performed across Europe, including for audiences of French and English royal families.

The child prodigy was celebrated for his talents in performing and composing. By age 14, Mozart had traveled to Italy to work on opera compositions. A teenaged Mozart was inspired to write Exsultate Jubilate (“rejoice, resound with joy”) during his stay in Milan during the production of his opera Lucio Silla. 

Exsultate Jubilate is solo motet, a vocal composition based on sacred Latin text. Mozart wrote the piece for Venanzio Rauzzini, a singer he admired and one of the performers in Lucio Silla. 

It premiered in 1773 but went through several revisions after that. Today, Exsultate Jubilate is typically sung by a female soprano.