' (''The Soul of the Philosopher, or Orpheus and Euridice''), Hob. 28/13, is an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

in Italian in four acts by

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

and is one of the last two operas written during his life, the other being '' Armida'' (1783).The

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

, by Carlo Francesco Badini, is based on the myth of

Orpheus In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...

and Euridice as told in

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

''. Composed in 1791 for His Majesty's Theatre during his first visit to England, the opera was never performed during Haydn's lifetime and only given its formal premiere in 1951.

Background

After his patron Prince Nikolaus Esterházy had died in 1790, Haydn travelled to London where he received a commission to write several symphonies. The impresario John Gallini offered him a contract to write an opera for The King's Theatre but due to a dispute between

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

and

the Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

he was refused permission to stage it in May 1791. There are some uncertainties about why the opera was banned at the time. The score was nearly completed but was not published in its complete form before the 20th century. It was partially published by

Breitkopf & Härtel Breitkopf & Härtel () is a German Music publisher, music publishing house. Founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf, it is the world's oldest music publisher. Overview The catalogue contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works ...

in c. 1807. Various manuscripts were scattered in several European libraries. H. C. Robbins Landon did much to assemble the available scores.

Performance history

''L'anima del filosofo'' remained unperformed until 9 June 1951, when it appeared at the Teatro della Pergola, Florence, with a cast including

Maria Callas Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...

and Boris Christoff, under the conductor Erich Kleiber. The UK premiere was in 1955, a concert performance at the St Pancras Festival. This was the debut of the baritone Derek Hammond-Stroud. It has been performed and recorded several times since then. The opera makes extensive use of the chorus.

Roles

Instrumentation

The opera is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two cors anglais, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, two trombones, timpani, harp, strings, and continuo.

Music

Haydn borrowed previously composed music as the basis for select portions of the opera. One notable example is Genio's "C Major" aria which was a reformed version of Flaminia's aria "Ragion nell'alma siede" from the 1773 opera, ''Philemon und Baucis''.

Recordings

* 1951 – Herbert Handt (Orfeo), Judith Hellwig (Euridice), Alfred Poell (Creonte), Hedda Heusser (Genio), Walter Berry (Pluto), Richard Walleigh (First courtier) – Wiener Staatsopernchor und Orchester, Hans Swarowsky – 3 LPs The Haydn Society * 1967 – Nicolai Gedda (Orfeo),

Dame Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s to the 1980s. She possessed a voic ...

(Euridice), Spiro Malas (Creonte), Mary O'Brien (Genio), Simon Gilbert (Pluto) – Scottish Opera Chorus, Scottish National Orchestra, Richard Bonynge – 2 CDs Opera d'Oro * 1994 – Robert Swensen (Orfeo), Helen Donath (Euridice), Thomas Quasthoff (Creonte), Sylvia Greenberg (Genio), Paul Hansen (Pluto), Azuko Suzuki (Baccante) –

Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks (; "Bavarian Broadcasting"), shortened to BR (), is a public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD consortium of public broadcas ...

, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Leopold Hager – 2 CDs Orfeo * 1997 – Uwe Heilmann (Orfeo),

Cecilia Bartoli Cecilia Bartoli Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, OMRI (; born 4 June 1966) is an Italian mezzo-soprano widely known in the music of Vincenzo Bellini, Bellini, George Frideric Handel, Handel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart, Gioachino Ross ...

(Euridice), Ildebrando d'Arcangelo (Creonte), Cecilia Bartoli (Genio), Andrea Silvestrelli (Pluto), Angela Kazimierczuk (Baccante) – Academy of Ancient Music,

Christopher Hogwood Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood (10 September 194124 September 2014) was an English Conducting, conductor, harpsichordist, and Musicology, musicologist. Founder of the early music ensemble the Academy of Ancient Music, he was an authority on h ...

– 2 CDs L'Oiseau-Lyre

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anima del filosofo Italian-language operas Operas by Joseph Haydn Operas 1791 operas Operas about Orpheus Operas based on Metamorphoses