Mozart’s singspiel Der Schauspieldirektor (The Impresario) is a musically delightful and comedically clever little piece, even though most listeners only know it for its engaging overture. The Boston Baroque offers it here in what it claims is a “first recording on period instruments”, and I find no evidence to dispute that contention. After an unusually heavy-footed run at the overture, the otherwise excellent Boston players--joined by a generally outstanding group of singers--presents the sung parts of the work in a sufficiently effective, entertaining style that actually makes a good case for hearing all of Mozart’s music minus the originally intervening (and tedious) dramatic dialogue. Not only is there some good material for the singers, but also, as in the feisty Trio section, there are some very funny, apt characterizations and terrific examples of Mozart’s dramatic skill. The two sopranos deliver the goods and then some, while tenor John Aler mediates the squabbling prima donnas with lovely, warm vocalism.

The program’s other work, a singspiel titled The Beneficent Dervish, is included here only for its rather peripheral (and highly shaky) connection to Mozart. With a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, this piece apparently was performed by Vienna’s Theater auf der Wieden as one of a group of fairy-tale operas--the first being The Philosopher’s Stone in September, 1790, and the last being Mozart’s The Magic Flute, in September, 1791. There is virtually no evidence that Mozart had anything to do with the composition or performances of The Beneficent Dervish, but the recording’s producers suggest that he must have heard it and perhaps was influenced by it in some way while considering music for the same singers in his own Magic Flute.

Nevertheless, there are many similarities of characters and symbols in all three of these fairy-tale operas, and it’s probably interesting to speculate on the importance of these connections. Yet, musically, The Beneficent Dervish is no more than a solid, very competently written bit of theatre, unquestionably composed by those who thoroughly understood the operatic conventions of the period and who knew the meaning of economy and comedy (try the nonsense chorus of dervishes singing “O Abdallah, mudi falla, hascha, wascha bu badallah!”). There’s even a couple of very pleasing arias (sung especially well by soprano Sharon Baker, not so well by bass Alan Ewing) and a cute duet between the comic characters Mandolino and Mandolina that leaves us wanting to hear more of mezzo Deanne Meek. It’s even remotely possible that Mozart himself could have contributed an aria (“Sofrano, fühltest du mein Leiden”)--or perhaps the duet “Ach, die Teure liebet mich!”. Whatever the case, fans of 18th-century German opera/singspiel will find much to enjoy here, guided by Martin Pearlman’s smart conducting and topped off by Telarc’s fine sound, from the ideal acoustics of Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA.

--David Vernier