After Haydn opera came up briefly in the comments the other day I decided to have a listen. I've had this big box of Haydn for a while:
I have listened through the whole box, 160 CDs, but I don't recall the operas at all. So I put on his last opera, L'Anima del Filosofo, composed in 1791 and never performed (due to a dispute between King George III and the Prince of Wales) until 1951! So what is wrong with Haydn operas? Search me. The music sounds up to the usual Haydn standards of excellence: well-crafted orchestral parts, tuneful arias, rousing choruses. Nothing wrong that I can hear. Perhaps the libretto is seriously flawed, but I can't tell. What makes an opera successful? And why are Haydn operas not successful? You got me.
I just discovered that there is a fine performance from 1995 on YouTube with Concentus Musicus conducted by Nicolaus Harnoncourt and with Cecilia Bartoli singing the part of Euridice (despite the title, the opera is on the perennial tale of Orpheus and Euridice.
So you tell me--what's wrong with Haydn operas?
I just discovered that there is a fine performance from 1995 on YouTube with Concentus Musicus conducted by Nicolaus Harnoncourt and with Cecilia Bartoli singing the part of Euridice (despite the title, the opera is on the perennial tale of Orpheus and Euridice.
So you tell me--what's wrong with Haydn operas?
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