By the end of 1769, Mozart was known across Europe, from Italy to England; both his performances and his compositions - already more than forty substantial works - had catapulted him to fame as perhaps the greatest of musical child prodigies. He was recognized at home, too: his opera La finta semplice was performed at the Salzburg court on or about 1 May 1769 and in October he wrote the Mass K66; other important works from this time include three orchestral serenades (K63, 99 and 100), some shorter sacred works (K117 and 141) and several sets of dancing minuets. On 27 October he was appointed, on an honorary basis, concertmaster in the court music.
On 13 December, Wolfgang and his father set out on the first of three trips to Italy. Leopold’s purpose was not only to show off his son but also to educate him: Italy was still considered the place for a young musician to hone his skills to mastery. Their first journey followed the pattern established during the ‘Grand Tour’, chiefly concerts at towns along the way or at the homes of influential noblemen. Mozart gave a concert at the Accademia Filarmonica in Verona and had his portrait painted, probably by Saverio dalla Rosa. And on 16 January he gave a public concert at Mantua; a report in the Gazzetta di Mantova described him as ‘incomparable’. From Mantua the Mozarts travelled to Milan, where Wolfgang performed several times at the home of Count Karl Firmian, the Austrian minister plenipotentiary; shortly afterwards he was commissioned to write Mitridate, re di Ponto for the carnival season in December. Father and son left Milan on 15 March, stopping at Lodi (where Mozart composed his first string quartet, K80), Bologna (where they met Padre Martini) and Florence (where Wolfgang became friendly with the young English composer Thomas Linley). They arrived at Rome on 10 April, where Mozart may have composed two or three symphonies, visited Naples, and returned to Rome where, on 5 July, Pope Clemens XIV made him a Knight of the Golden Spur. From Rome they returned to Bologna, where Mozart was admitted to membership of the Accademia Filarmonica, and then to Milan, for work on the opera. Although the composition itself went quickly, there were various intrigues among the singers who demanded numerous revisions of Mozart’s arias; in one case, ‘Vado incontro al fato estremo’ the primo uomo, Guglielmo d’Ettore, substituted an aria by Gasparini for Mozart’s. The opera premiered on 26 December at the Teatro Regio Ducale. Leopold had not been confident that the opera would be a success but it was, running to twenty-two performances.
The Mozarts left Milan on 14 January 1771, stopping at Turin, Venice, Padua and Verona before arriving at Salzburg on 28 March. The fifteen-month trip had been an extraordinary success, widely reported in the international press. And even before their return home, Leopold had laid plans for two further trips to Italy: when the Mozarts were in Verona, Wolfgang was commissioned to write the serenata Ascanio in Alba for the wedding in Milan the following October of Archduke Ferdinand and Princess Maria Beatrice Ricciarda of Modena; the same month he was issued a contract by the Regio Ducal Teatro at Milan for the first carnival opera of 1773, Lucio Silla. As a result, Mozart spent barely five months at home in 1771, during which time he wrote the Regina coeli K108, the litany K109 and the symphony K110. Father and son set out again on 13 August, arriving at Milan on 21 August. They received the libretto for Ascanio in Alba on 29 August and the opera went into rehearsal on 27 September; the premiere was on 17 October. Hasse’s Metastasian opera Ruggiero, also composed for the wedding festivities, had its first performance the day before; according to Leopold, Ascanio ‘knocked Hasse’s opera into a cocked hat’ (letter of 19 October 1771), a judgment confirmed by reports in local newspapers. The Mozarts remained in Milan until 5 December, during which time Wolfgang wrote the divertimento K113 and the symphony K112. He may also have sought employment at court but his application was effectively scotched by Ferdinand’s mother, Maria Theresia, who in a letter of 12 December advised the archduke against burdening himself with ‘useless people’ who go ‘about the world like beggars’.
The third and last Italian journey began on 24 October 1772; probably Mozart had been sent the libretto and cast list for Lucio Silla during the summer, when he also began to set the recitatives. On his arrival at Milan he wrote the choruses and composed the arias, having first heard each of the singers so that he could suit the music to their voices. The premiere, on 26 December, was a mixed success, chiefly because of a patchy cast. Nevertheless, the opera ran for twenty-six performances. Before leaving for home, Mozart wrote the solo motet Exsultate, jubilate for the primo uomo in the opera, Venanzio Rauzzini. Father and son arrived back at Salzburg on 13 March 1773.