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    #1

    Haydn Opera's


    There seems to be some doubt about the no. of Operas as opposed to Oratorio's, that Haydn wrote and those that have survived.
    It seems to be an almost neglected corner of this great composers output. Can anyone shine any light on this. Is it true that Haydn's Opera's were either lost or burnt in a fire at Esterhaz?
    Has anyone seen a performance of one of his surviving operas?
    ~ Courage, so it be righteous, will gain all things ~
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    #2
    If they were lost, several have been found again. I remember reading something like this on one of my cd's (his Armida or La Fedeltà Premiata) that it appears that some of his orfeo was lost or probably never finished and some other operas were found again because there were copies in England. Something like that. Also, AFAK the fire happened during his stay there and the place was rebuilt.

    You may want to check this CDs:
    Armida - Harnoncourt/Bartoli/Prégardien - Wonderful recording, period orchestra, live, superb Bartoli and Harnoncourt.
    All operas on Philips - Norman/Doráti - Doráti recorded more Haydn than anyone before. I guess he conducted more too. He also recorded the complete symphonies to Decca.
    Orfeo, ossia L'anima del Filosofo - Hogwood/AAM/Bartoli(again!) - Wonderful recording too, if you want buy only this and Armida with Bartoli too. This is incomplete, because the complete score was never found if finished. I don't think this appears on the Philips set, but I guess Orfeo only showed up after it.

    This is more than enough. Hogwood/Haydn recordings are superb, all of them. Doráti is quite good too, but the AAM shines more than the Esterháza (because this is now modern instruments).

    His operas are wonderful, and this Armid and Orfeo are brilliant, really not much behind Mozart (if it is, I don't think so, common opinion seems to think so)

    I hope this is enough .

    ------------------
    "Wer ein holdes weib errungen..."
    "Wer ein holdes Weib errungen..."

    "My religion is the one in which Haydn is pope." - by me .

    "Set a course, take it slow, make it happen."

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      #3
      Amalie, I read somewhere that Haydn wrote 19 operas. Here is a website that has some information on his operas.
      http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Marble/9607/haydn.htm

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      'Truth and beauty joined'
      'Truth and beauty joined'

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        #4
        Rutra and Joy,
        Thankyou indeed for your information. I shall certainly be looking into the recommendtions.
        I certainly did not realise that Haydn wrote so many operas. I think it is just fantastic to think of the artistic output of Haydn,Mozart and Beethoven, when you look at it all listed. It makes one feel very,very humble. They seem to have been giants whose whole medium of existence was in and through music. I mean, they must have spent almost their entire waking hours thinking and writing music, and it is thanks to them of course that we have this priceless legacy.

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        ~ Unsterbliche Geliebte ~

        [This message has been edited by Amalie (edited 10-27-2004).]
        ~ Courage, so it be righteous, will gain all things ~

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          #5
          I have always been quite curious about Haydn's operas and recently about Schubert's because I have been greatly immersed in his lieder as of late. My apologies for having nothing to contribute to the current discussion and my apologies for changing the topic but what does everyone know about Schubert's operas? I have read they suffer from terrible plots but they must be worth a look, having been written, after all, by the master of song. Does anyone know of any good starting points or recordings worth purchasing?

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            #6
            Originally posted by Haffner:
            I have always been quite curious about Haydn's operas and recently about Schubert's because I have been greatly immersed in his lieder as of late. My apologies for having nothing to contribute to the current discussion and my apologies for changing the topic but what does everyone know about Schubert's operas? I have read they suffer from terrible plots but they must be worth a look, having been written, after all, by the master of song. Does anyone know of any good starting points or recordings worth purchasing?
            I have an excellent recording of Schubert's Fierrabras - Abbado and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe on DG. This is Schubert's greatest achievement in opera and you won't be disappointed by the music.

            Back to the original Haydn topic - He himself would have been incredulous at the obscurity of his operas as they formed a central part of his work. From 1775-1784 he wrote 7 operas and this may account for the falling off in symphonic quality during this period. Haydn suffers the same fate as Schubert with poor librettos set to glorious music! The best examples are La Speziale, Il Mondo del luna and L'anima del filosofo.

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            'Man know thyself'
            'Man know thyself'

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              #7
              Might I also add that it is very difficult to make a complete statement of Haydn's compositions. Here's what I found on the subject, "With regard to many compositions it is hard to tell if they are composed by Haydn or by a different composer. Some compositions are supposed to be written by Haydn, but may not be written by the maestro at all! Every catalogue of Haydn's works is missing works or it contains too much compositions. Of course Haydn made statements by himself. These statements are important for the study of his works, but are also not complete. Haydn didn't mention every composition in his lists, he simply forgot to mention some works or he used different names for different compositions, like Sonata, Divertimento, Partita etc.

              Many of Haydn's compositions were destroyed during fires in Eisenstadt or the Hungarian Eszterhaza. Other compositions rest in private libraries."

              The most complete Haydn-catalog is made by Anthony van Hoboken.

              Haydn once wrote: "Since God has given me a cheerful heart, He will forgive me for serving Him cheerfully."

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              'Truth and beauty joined'
              'Truth and beauty joined'

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                #8
                Originally posted by Haffner:
                I have always been quite curious about Haydn's operas and recently about Schubert's because I have been greatly immersed in his lieder as of late. My apologies for having nothing to contribute to the current discussion and my apologies for changing the topic but what does everyone know about Schubert's operas? I have read they suffer from terrible plots but they must be worth a look, having been written, after all, by the master of song. Does anyone know of any good starting points or recordings worth purchasing?
                Schubert's ones have been discussed by me and Peter in another thread, it started as Weber's operas, but it has some Schubert too: http://www.gyrix.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001717.html


                ------------------
                "Wer ein holdes weib errungen..."
                "Wer ein holdes Weib errungen..."

                "My religion is the one in which Haydn is pope." - by me .

                "Set a course, take it slow, make it happen."

                Comment

                  #9
                  Peter and Rutradelusasa
                  Thank you kindly, I am making a trip to the CD store tomorrow, these operas are now at the top of my list.

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