One of the most infamous examples of Leopold Mozart’s manipulative behaviour during Wolfgang’s Italian tour in 1770 involves the celebrated poetess Maria Maddalena Morelli Fernandez, better known as Corilla Olimpica. According to Leopold’s letters, Corilla supposedly composed a sonnet in honour of Wolfgang, delivered by the English violinist Thomas Linley. However, this story is full of glaring inconsistencies, pointing to a deliberate fabrication by Leopold in his effort to promote his son.

Corilla was a respected figure in the Florentine cultural scene, renowned for her eloquent poetry. Yet, the so-called sonnet Da poi che il Fato t’ha da me diviso, supposedly dedicated to Wolfgang, is riddled with grammatical errors and lacks any reference to Mozart’s actual musical talents. Its generic content could have been directed at anyone, making it highly unlikely that Corilla, known for her precision, would have penned such a lacklustre piece.

More damning is the fact that Corilla herself never mentioned writing any poem for Mozart, nor did Linley, the alleged intermediary. The complete absence of this event from contemporary records and Corilla’s own writings strongly suggests that Leopold invented the entire episode. It seems that Leopold, ever the ambitious stage father, was willing to bend the truth to construct a narrative that would further glorify his son. By associating Wolfgang with prominent cultural figures like Corilla, Leopold hoped to boost his son’s status in the eyes of the aristocracy and potential patrons.

Leopold’s need to fabricate this sonnet speaks volumes about the lengths he was willing to go. Far from being an innocent promoter of his son’s talent, he consistently manipulated events and exaggerated Wolfgang’s achievements. The supposed involvement of Corilla Olimpica in Mozart’s early career is yet another instance of Leopold’s unscrupulous methods to establish his son’s reputation, even at the cost of truth.

The reality is that Corilla, at the time, was far more focused on her relationship with the violinist Pietro Nardini, not on some adolescent prodigy passing through Florence. Leopold’s fabrication reveals a deep insecurity about his son’s place in the musical world, and this episode casts serious doubt on the authenticity of many accounts from Wolfgang’s early career.