Bastien und Bastienne 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 Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The German libretto is by Friedrich Wilhelm Weiskern, and Johann Andreas Schachtner, based on ' by Justine Favart and Harny de Guerville. After its supposed premiere in Mesmer's garden theater (that is only corroborated
Alfred Reynolds (composer) the comic book by of that name) and a score for The Swiss Family Robinson. In 1947, he wrote music for a Stratford-upon-Avon adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass". A two-act comic opera, "The Limpet in the Castle", was premiered in 1958 at Wombwell, Yorkshire. Much of his theatre music has been played in the concert hall. Reynolds died aged 84 at Bognor Regis on 18 October 1969. Philip L. Scowcroft, "Theatre Conductor and Composer: Alfred Reynolds (1884-1969)" Alfred Reynolds (composer) Alfred Reynolds (1884–1969) was a composer of light music for the theatre. He was born in