Bastien und Bastienne which Bastienne merely shrugs off. Finally, the two decide that they have gone far enough and agree to reconcile. Colas joins them as they all sing a final trio in praise of the magician. Notes Sources Bastien und Bastienne ' was one of Mozart's earliest operas, written in 1768 when he was only twelve years old. It was allegedly commissioned by Viennese physician and 'magnetist' Dr. Franz Mesmer (who himself would later be parodied in "Così fan tutte") as a satire of the 'pastoral' genre then prevalent, and specifically as a parody of the opera "Le devin du village" by
The Cobbler and the Financier composer Henri-Joseph Rigel made a two-act comic opera of the fable in 1778. He was followed by Jacques Offenbach who, having set the fable for soloist and small orchestra as part of his "6 fables de la Fontaine" in 1842, later adapted the story to a one-act comic opera in 1856 in which the heroine sings a parody of his own setting. In that light-hearted entertainment, the cobbler turns the tables on his opponent by using the 300 crowns he is given to beat the financier at cards, taking over all his assets and winning the hand of his daughter.