It was indeed a wonderful tour which they made in Italy, though there is not time to tell of many things that happened.  On their return to Rome, the Pope gave him the order of the Golden Spur, which made him Chevalier de Mozart.  Arriving at Bologna the young musician was made a member of the Accademia Filharmonica.  The test for this admission was setting an antiphon in four parts.  Wolfgang was locked in a room till the task should be finished.  To the astonishment of everybody he asked to be let out at the end of half an hour,—­having completed the work.

The travelers now proceeded to Milan, where Mozart was to work on his first opera, for which he had received a commission.  It was a great task for a boy to accomplish and we find the young composer writing to his mother and sister to pray for his success.  The opera was called “Mitridate,” and was finished after three months’ hard work.  The first performance was given in Milan, December 26, 1770, and was conducted by Wolfgang himself.  It was a proud, happy day for the father, indeed for the whole family.  “Mitridate” succeeded beyond their hopes; it was given twenty times before crowded houses; and its success brought an election to the Accademia, and also a commission to write a dramatic Serenata for an approaching royal wedding.  This work also was a great success.  The Empress who had commissioned Mozart to compose the work was so pleased, that besides the promised fee, she gave the composer a gold watch with her portrait set in diamonds on the back.

Sunshine and success had followed the gifted boy through all his travels; but now shadows and disappointments were to come, due to jealousy, intrigue and indifference of those in power who might have helped him but failed to recognize his genius.  Shortly after the return of the father and son to their home town of Salzburg, their protector and friend, the good Archbishop of Salzburg, died.  His successor was indifferent to art and held in contempt those who followed it as a profession.  He persistently refused to appoint the young musician to any office worthy his talent or to recognize his gifts in any way.  While Mozart remained at home in Salzburg, hoping his prospects would improve, he worked at composing with untiring diligence.  By the time he was twenty-one he had accumulated a mass of music that embraced every branch of the art.  He had a growing reputation as a composer but no settled future.  He had the post of concertmaster, it is true, but the salary was but a trifle and he was often pressed for money.  Leopold therefore decided to undertake another professional tour with his son.  The Archbishop however prevented the father leaving Salzburg.  So the only course left open was to allow Wolfgang and his mother to travel together.  They set out on the morning of September 23, 1777.  Wolfgang’s spirits rose as the town of Salzburg faded into the haze of that September morning; the sense of freedom was exhilarating; he had escaped the place associated in his mind with tyranny and oppression, to seek his fortune in new and wider fields.