Mozart's collaborations with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte led to the composition of these three operas. This work describes the cultural and social context in which they were written, together with Mozart's own hopes and expectations for his works. The operas were composed over a period of rapid intellectual and political change, during which Mozart's beliefs, ambitions and position in society shifted radically. At a musical level, Mozart's work underwent crucial stylistic developments that are manifest in these three operas. This work aims to provide insight into Mozart's creative technique and into the functions of opera in his time.