1777 – The Music - All is not lost

Hob. #	Genre	Key	Instruments / Notes
1a:04	Overture (Symphonic movement)	D	From unidentified work
1a:07	Overture (Symphonic movement)	D	Not related to any specific work - Also used as alt finale to Symphony 53 - Flute, 2 Oboes, Bassoon, 2 Horns, Timpani & Strings
Hob. #	Genre	Libretto	Name	Instruments / Notes
24b:02	Aria for Soprano		D'una sposa meschinella	An insertion aria for the character of Donna Stella (Sop.) in the opera 'La frascatana' by Paisiello
28:07	Opera buffa (Dramma giocoso)	Carlo Goldoni	Il Mondo della Luna (The World on the Moon)	2 Sop & 2 Altos OR 3 Sop. & 1 Alto, 2 Tenors, Bass, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, 2 Trumpet, Timpani, Strings & Continuo (Harpsichord) - Premiere Aug 3, 1777 at the wedding feast of Nicholas' son.

Frontispiece from Goldoni's libretto

With so many completed symphonies in the Haydn oeuvre, one doesn't tend to give a lot of thought to the bits and pieces lying around until, suddenly, one is confronted with 'but that's all there is this year'. These two little movements have seen some duty over the years, but their origins and reasons for being remain shrouded in mystery. Were they actually parts of symphonies, later discarded in favor of other movements more congruent with the balance? Or maybe they were overtures or entr'actes which ended up doing temporary duty during an emergency shortage? The facts are lost in the mists of time, and will probably never be recovered now.

Hob 1a:7 is the better known piece. Originally it was probably a stage piece, but it became the temporary opening to Symphony #62. We don't know what stage work, but the original ending was a modulation to C major, which is what overtures do when they get to a stopping point. When it became a first movement for a symphony, that part got dropped and a regular ending substituted. But let's not stop there! We will one day explore the saga of Symphony #53, but for now, let's merely note en passant that this same 'overture' has a curious history:

1^st usage:

Not sure which one, but it was certainly part of a theatrical presentation, either an overture or an entr'acte maybe to a dramatic play or a marionette opera.

         2^nd usage

The first movement of Symphony 66

         3^rd usage

Symphony 62 temporarily uses it as an opening movement.

4^th usage

It is used in an iteration of Symphony 53 as the finale.

Altogether, it seems to show that he was ambivalent at best about what form a finale needed to take, or, for that matter, an opening Allegro, a phenomenon we noted in 1775 when we discussed Symphony 66. This overture, like several of his named operatic overtures, was eventually bundled up and sold to an English publisher in the mid-1780's, where it became popular all over again, independent of its hyperactive past life!

Il Mondo Della Luna
Was especially composed for, and performed at, the wedding festivities associated with Nicholas' son (also named Nicholas) and Countess Maria Anna Weissenwolf. As we have seen, it was a cultural tradition of their class to have an opera composed and performed for the nuptials; often it had to do with imparting a lesson to the bride and groom, although not obviously so in this case.

Haydn expended a great deal of energy in preparing this opera for performance. It had been set many times previously, first by Galuppi, way back in 1750. He (personally, it seems) rewrote and reordered a substantial part of it, and in addition, he had to redo some parts two or three times due to changes in cast. Here is a brief synopsis of the story.

Ecclitio is a fake astrologer. Like the Dervish, Calandro, in L'incontro improvviso, he revels in his falsehood. The story opens with him and some of his students out on his terrace at night, observing the moon through a telescope. Ecclitio boasts how he can easily dupe the simple-minded. As if on cue, Buonafede, a potential dupe if there ever was one, enters. He is a wealthy old man with a false sense of being in the know about all sorts of world events and facts. Ecclitio's telescope, which is apparently of the sort which can have a picture held over the end and appear to be the real thing, is wheeled in and Buonafede looks through it and sees some marvels which speak very well to his prejudices, like a man spanking his wife for perceived infidelities, and a lovely girl caressing an old man. He offers Ecclitio some money, but Ecclitio confides to us that he doesn't really care for money, he wants Buonafede's daughter, Clarice. Ernesto, a friend of Ecclitio, confesses to being in love with Buonafede's other daughter, and his manservant, Cecco, with Buonafede's maid.

In order to trick Buonafede and (basically) make off with his women, Ecclitio tells him that he has heard from the Emperor of the Moon, who wishes to visit with Buonafede. Buonafede will travel there by means of a magic potion (sorry, no rockets yet). He is all for it, and takes the potion whereupon he falls into a deep sleep. His garden is made up to look like someone's perception of the moon and Act I comes to a close.

In Act II, the pulling of wool over eyes continues, with the garden having been all got up as the moon. Among other wonders, there is a ballet danced as entertainment for Buonafede, and some rapturous orchestral music. Cecco, as we recall, is keen on Lisetta, Buonafede's maid. Cecco has been disguised as Emperor of the Moon, and he proclaims her the Empress, effectively removing her from Buonafede's reach as he, too, attempts to woo her. During the subsequent Imperial wedding, Buonafede is tricked into giving his two daughters in marriage to Ecclitio and Ernesto, and the hoodwinking is complete.

Act III sums it all up by Buonafede being forced to pay over his daughters' dowries as the price of being allowed to return home. A fool till the end, it seems.

It is a typically outrageous plot, and it must have been greatly appreciated in its time. There were many opportunities for Haydn to use the resources at hand to make the most of it all. The music itself is very fine, many parts of it were reused in future works, famously the overture becoming the first movement of Symphony 63, but also several pieces of incidental music for the Trios for 2 Flutes (or Violin & Flute) & Cello of Hob IV. Haydn knew good music when he had it in hand, and he also seemed to be aware of the hard reality that many operas, especially his, written for a rural magnate with irreproducible resources, would never again see the light of day. And in fact, this is just what happened to Il Mondo Della Luna. It was nearly two centuries before it had a revival. Fortunately all of those wonderful tunes didn't lie dormant along with it!

Finally, a note about 'insertion arias'. As repellent as the idea of a composer tossing out an original aria and replacing it with one of his own device has been made to seem to us today, in Haydn's time it was so totally routine that staging an opera 'as is' would have seemed like a ludicrous exercise! D'una sposa meschinella, the insertion aria for the character of Donna Stella in the opera La frascatana by Paisiello was such a case. The misperception which plagues the concept is that there must have been thought to be some inadequacy in the original, as though Haydn, in this case, thought he was a better composer than Paisiello. But the truth of the matter lies quite differently. When Paisiello wrote that aria, he had a singer who had a range of voice to which he carefully tailored the music, so she would not have notes beyond her compass, or phrases too long for her breath control to manage, or perhaps more or less coloratura than was her strength. Haydn quickly realized that his own soprano was either better or not so good, and the original aria was trashed, the new one composed, and in the process, Haydn took the opportunity to make it almost a duet between the soprano and his solo oboist, who has a wonderfully lovely obbligato part to play. You should give it a try, there are some very nice recordings available.

And that sums up 1777. Once the fire damage is behind us, we will again be overwhelmed by the great variety of Haydn's music; for now, we will simply enjoy what we have left!

Thanks for reading!