The Irish tenor Michael Kelly, who went down in music history as the original stuttering Don Curzio in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, reports that Mozart once played viola in a string quartet alongside Haydn on second violin, the now obscure Czech composer Johann Baptist Wanhal on cello, and none other than Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf on first violin. Little remembered today, Dittersdorf was a star in his time; when his name turns up on concert programs, it’s apt to be attached to a concerto for double bass, for harp, or for oboe—instruments whose paucity of repertoire sends players with dreams of solo glory scurrying for whatever curiosities they can find. But Dittersdorf’s chef d’œuvre is generally thought to be Physician and Pharmacist, an outstanding example of the Singspiel, a popular genre in which spoken dialogue alternates with musical numbers. The plot won’t surprise you greatly; we’re dealing with young lovers whose parents oppose their marriage. But Dittersdorf’s gift for melody in the Italian as well as the German style makes for delightful listening. Emperor Joseph II, who commissioned the work, was doubtless well pleased, especially when Doktor und Apotheker became a runaway hit throughout Europe. Travel back in time to see what the excitement was all about. —Matthew Gurewitsch