''Le pescatrici'' (''The Fisherwomen'') Hob. 28/4, is an opera ('' dramma giocoso'') in three acts by Joseph Haydn set to a libretto by

Carlo Goldoni Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: * Carlo (name) * Monte Carlo * Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince ...

. Originally composed as part of the wedding celebrations of Maria Theresa Countess Lamberg, the opera was first performed on 16 September 1770 in the court theatre at

Eszterháza Eszterháza is a palace in Fertőd, Hungary, built by Prince Nikolaus Esterházy. Sometimes called the "Hungarian Versailles", it is Hungary's grandest Rococo edifice. It served as the home to Joseph Haydn and his orchestra from 1760 to 1790. In ...

Background and performance history

''Le pescatrici'' was the second of the three Goldoni libretti that Haydn set to music — the other two were ''

Lo speziale ''Lo speziale'' (''The Apothecary''), Hob. 28/3, is a three-act opera buffa by Joseph Haydn, with a libretto by Carlo Goldoni. A love triangle between the poor apprentice Mengone, the rich and assured dandy Volpino, and the local apothecary's ...

'' (1768) and '' Il mondo della luna'' (1777). However, Haydn was not the first to use Goldoni's libretto. It had previously been used for operas by

Ferdinando Bertoni Ferdinando Bertoni (15 August 1725 – 1 December 1813) was an Italian composer and organist. Early years He was born in Salò, and began his music studies in Brescia, not far from his birthplace. Around 1740 he went to Bologna, where he studied ...

(

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, 1751) and

Niccolò Piccinni Niccolò Piccinni (; 16 January 1728 – 7 May 1800) was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly th ...

(

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

1766) and was later used by

Florian Leopold Gassmann Florian Leopold Gassmann (3 May 1729 – 21 January 1774) was a German-speaking Bohemian opera composer of the transitional period between the baroque and classical eras. He was one of the principal composers of '' dramma giocoso'' immed ...

(

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 1771). Haydn composed ''Le pescatrici'' as part of the lavish celebrations for the marriage of Prince Nikolaus Esterházy's niece, Maria Theresa Countess Lamberg to Alois Count Poggi at

where the opera was first performed on 16 September 1770. The roles of Lesbina and Frisellino were first sung by Maria Magdalena Spangler and her husband, Carl Friberth, two prominent court singers at Eszterháza. Carl Friberth may also have had a hand in adapting Goldoni's libretto for Haydn. A third of the original score was then destroyed in a fire at Esterháza in 1779. It was later reconstructed in 1965 by the Haydn scholar by

H.C. Robbins Landon Howard Chandler Robbins Landon (March 6, 1926November 20, 2009) was an American musicologist, journalist, historian and broadcaster, best known for his work in rediscovering the huge body of neglected music by Haydn and in correcting misunderstand ...

and the composer Karl Heinz Füssl. Since then the opera has had occasional revivals, most notably in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

on 15 June 1965; in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

on 29 June 1967 when it received its first radio broadcast; in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

on 1 February 1985; and at

Garsington Opera Garsington Opera is an annual summer opera festival founded in 1989 by Leonard Ingrams. The Philharmonia Orchestra and The English Concert are its two resident orchestras. For 21 years it was held in the gardens of Ingrams's home at Garsingto ...

in June 1997. The bicentenary of Haydn's death in 2009 saw several performances of the work. In February 2009, it was performed at the Vienna Kammeroper. It was also performed by Bampton Classical Opera in English translation in July of that year, followed by performances in London's

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...

in September. The opera received its US premiere in New Brunswick, New Jersey at the

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

Nicholas Music Center on 30 October 2009.Reich (2 November 2009)

Roles

Le Pescatrici illustration Act 1 Scene 1

Synopsis

The story is set in

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

and concerns the Prince of

Sorrento Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana ra ...

's search for Prince Casimiro's rightful heir who had been taken to Taranto as a baby after her father's murder. Two young fisherwomen in the village, Lesbina and Nerina, each believe they might be the missing princess. Although they are engaged to each other's brother (also fishermen), they both dream of marrying a wealthy man and set their caps for Prince Lindoro. The real princess turns out to be the dignified Eurilda, whom everyone had thought was the daughter of the elderly fisherman, Mastriccio. Upon discovering this, Lindoro asks for her hand in marriage and departs for Sorrento with Eurilda and her adopted father. The squabbling pairs of lovers, Lesbina and Frisellino and Nerina and Burlotto are eventually reunited but not before Frisellino and Burlotto embarrass Lesbina and Nerina by disguising themselves as cousins of Prince Lindoro and persuading them to elope.

Recordings

A complete recording of ''Le pescatrici'' using the reconstructed score by H.C. Robbins Landon with Olga Geczy conducting the Lithuanian Opera Orchestra was released on the

Hungaroton Hungaroton is the oldest record and music publisher company in Hungary. Hungaroton was founded in 1951, when its only competitors in the Hungarian music market were record labels like Melodiya, Supraphon and from other socialist countries. Prev ...

label in July 2009.

Notes and references

Sources

* Bampton Classical Opera
''Le Pescatrici''
Accessed 4 November 2009. * *Federal Chancellery of Austria
"Haydn-Jahr 09: 'Le pescatrici – The Fisher Girls' at Vienna Chamber Opera House"
16 February 2009. Accessed 4 November 2009. *Green, Rebecca
"Representing the Aristocracy: The Operatic Haydn and ''Le pescatrici''"
in Elaine Rochelle Sisman (ed.), ''Haydn and his World'', Princeton University Press, 1997, pp 154-200. *Hunter, Mary, "Friberth, Carl", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed 3 November 2009), Accessed 4 November 2009 vi
subscription)
*Kennedy, Michael

'' Daily Telegraph'', 21 June 1997. Accessed 4 November 2009. *Reich, Ronni
"Rutgers stages 'reconstructed' version of Haydn's 'Le Pescatrici' with Musica Raritana"
'' New Jersey Star-Ledger'', 2 November 2009. Accessed 4 November 2009. *Webster, James, "Haydn, (Franz) Joseph", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy. Accessed 4 November 2009 vi
subscription)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pescatrici, Le Operas Italian-language operas 1770 operas Operas by Joseph Haydn Libretti by Carlo Goldoni