"tailor made" for him by Mozart and which he sang in the premiere production (first performance 16 July 1782,) during the Vienna phase of his career. A year earlier, Antonio Salieri was inspired by his remarkable vocal range in composing his comic opera Der Rauchfangkehrer, writing for him the role of Herr von Bär. Further roles were Axur in Salieri's Axur, re d'Ormus, Osroes in Semiramis and Brenno in the eponymous opera by Johann Friedrich Reichardt. Compositions Apparently Fischer was also a composer but most of his work has not survived. In 1802 he composed the "popular" (Grove) drinking song "Im tiefen Keller sitz' ich hier". Its two-octave range (F to F) is perhaps unusual for a popular song, but would not have been a barrier for the composer; see below. Fischer and Mozart Fischer was evidently a friend of Mozart's. When he got into a disagreement with the Imperial theater manager, Count Rosenberg-Orsini, and decided to leave Vienna, Mozart gave him a letter of introduction to help him as he pursued his career (successfully) in Paris. In 1787, when Fischer returned to Vienna for a visit, Mozart created for him the aria "Alcandro, lo confesso…Non sò, d'onde viene", K. 512, which he sang at a concert he gave in the Kärntnertortheater on 21 March. Mozart may also have written another work for Fischer, the recitative and aria "Così dunque tradisci…Aspri rimorsi atroci" (K. 432/421a). Shortly after (April 1), Fischer wrote a 16-line poem of friendship in Mozart's album, whose last four lines (in English) are: Wilt thou my devotion know? This my recompense shall be: Be my friend, for long agoHast thou a friend in me.In 1796 (28 February), Fischer participated in a memorial concert for Mozart organized by his widow Constanze; he sang excerpts from La Clemenza di Tito. Assessment A critic for the Deutsches Museum of Leipzig, writing in 1781, called him "the foremost bass in Germany, and after Günther [possibly Friedrich Günther (1750after 1800)], the one who acts best." According to the Grove Dictionary, this was a generally held view: "In his day Fischer was regarded as Germany’s leading serious bass singer." Fischer could sing from a low D to a high A, and he controlled this extraordinary range with unusual lightness, purity, and precision. Reichardt said of his voice that it displayed "the depth of a cello and the natural height of a tenor." Mozart