Franz Xaver Gerl have been the composer of the aria "Ein Weib ist das herrlichste Ding", for which Mozart wrote a set of variations for piano, K. 613 (the composer may instead have been another singer-composer in the troupe, Benedikt Schack). Mozart gradually came to participate more in the activities of the Schikaneder troupe, culminating in his opera "The Magic Flute" (1791), with libretto by Schikaneder. Gerl premiered the role of Sarastro, and continued to sing this part in many performances through 1792. He left Schikaneder's troupe in 1793. Gerl may have been a participant in a rehearsal of Mozart's "Requiem" on the
Laurence Dale Laurence Dale Laurence Dale (born 1957) is an English tenor, artistic director and conductor. Laurence Dale studied singing at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Rudolf Piernay and the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Early leading roles included that of Hilarion in the Gilbert and Sullivan opera "Princess Ida" with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Ambrosian Opera Chorus in 1982, and Ramiro in Rossini's opera "La Cenerentola" with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1983. Amongst many Mozartian rôles, as well as baroque and romantic, his portrayal of Tamino, with which he opened Mozart year in Salzburg in 1991 was