Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born Jan. 27, 1756, wrote his first opera, “Bastien und Bastienne,” at age 12. The one-act comic opera about a shepherdess and her love was commissioned by Franz Anton Mesmer, the Austrian physician who popularized hypnotism (also known as mesmerism). It was performed for the first time at Mesmer’s home in the suburbs of Vienna in 1768 and not again until a production in Berlin in 1890, nearly 100 years after Mozart’s death.
What is the topping for a traditional shepherd’s pie?
A) Mashed potatoes
B) Meringue
C) Scrambled egg
D) Whipped cream
Previous answer: Driving an Oldsmobile in 1959, Lee Petty became the first winner of the Daytona 500.
TRIVIA FANS: Leslie Elman is the author of “Weird But True: 200 Astounding, Outrageous and Totally Off the Wall Facts.” Contact her at [email protected]
