Les petits riens

About the show

Les petits riens (French for "The Little Nothings") is a ballet in one act and three tableaux by Jean-Georges Noverre, with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and other, unknown composers, first performed at the Academie Royale de Musique in Paris on 11 June 1778. The score consists of 20 numbers, of which Mozart composed the overture and nos. 9–12, 15, 16 and 18. The three tableaux are described in the Journal de Paris: The opera was a flop and closed after four performances. Although the ballet music was well-received, Mozart was not credited with it, and he was at the time little known in Paris. The score, catalogued as K. Anh. 10/299b, was thought lost, but it was rediscovered in the Paris Opera's archives in the late 19th century