“ In 1739, after the death of Augustus II., Hasse settled permanently at Dresden till 1763, when he and his wife retired from court service with considerable pensions. But Hasse was still too young to rest on his laurels. He went with his family to Vienna, and added several operas to the great number of his works already in existence. His last work for the stage was the opera Ruggiero (1771) , written for the wedding of Archduke Ferdinand at Milan. On the same occasion a work by Mozart, then fourteen years old, was performed, and Hasse observed “this youngster will surpass us all.” ”

“ During the siege of Dresden by the Prussians in 1760, most of his manuscripts, collected for a complete edition to be brought out at the expense of the elector, were burnt. Some of his works, amongst them an opera Alcide al Bivio (1760) , have been published, and the libraries of Vienna and Dresden possess the autographs of others. Hasse’s instrumentation is certainly not above the low level attained by the average musicians of his time, and his ensembles do not present any features of interest. ”

“ All this while Faustina had remained at Dresden, the declared favourite of the public and unfortunately also of the elector, nor was her husband, who remained attached to her, allowed to see her except at long intervals. ”