1779 – The Music part 3 - Classical, not Classic!

Hob. #	Libretto	Genre	Name	Notes
24b:03		Insertion aria	Quando la rosa	For the character 'Nanina' (sop) in La Metilda ritrovata by Anfossi
28:09	Pietro Metastasio	Dramma giocoso (orig. 'Azione teatrale')	L'isola disabitata (The Desert Island)	Instruments Flute, 2 Oboes, Bassoon, 2 Horns in G, Timpani & Strings Roles Costanza mezzo-soprano Barbara Ripamonti Enrico baritone Benedetto Bianchi Gernando tenor Andrea Totti Silvia soprano Luigia Polzelli

 

Cover picture from the original libretto

It is a tribute to the stubborn persistence which drove a man to clear a swamp and build a palace which rivalled Versailles in the wilderness of Hungary, for us to note the fact that the night after the fire, an opera was staged in temporary quarters as though nothing untoward had happened. And two weeks later, on his Name Day, another opera, a première of a brand new composition by Kapellmeister Haydn, was staged on schedule. And while the fire itself was merely an unfortunate accident, the irony of the situation versus the imagery presented by the opera is hard to ignore.

Symbolism was an 18^th century standby. Great and minor points are often made in a symbolic way, at least in part because of the distinction of class which inhibited free expression. The setting of a classic short opera libretto by Metastasio, with musical allusions to the Enlightenment reformation of opera by Gluck and all coupled with the subject matter of man reigning over nature in isolation led to a manifold symbolic package presented by Haydn to Nicholas for the Name Day of his 65^th year!

There are names which persist in Vienna throughout this entire time period. One of the most revered was that of Pietro Metastasio. A Roman by birth, he made his early mark there as an accomplished poet and writer of libretti. Accepting an offer to be Court Poet and moving to Vienna in 1730, he settled in at the Michaelerhaus where he would live until his death in 1782. There, he composed dozens of cantatas and oratorios, and especially operas. Some of his libretti were composed by fifty or more different composers in his lifetime! He was also well known to be very generous in sharing his network of contacts with promising young artists, as we saw in 1751 when the young Haydn, living in abject poverty under the eaves of the Michaelerhaus was introduced by him to the Martines family as a potential keyboard teacher for then seven year old Marianna, and again in 1754 when he introduced Haydn to Porpora, who needed an accompanist for his voice students. These early contacts can easily be construed as keys to Haydn's future success.

While Haydn would not be a classic Metastasian-type composer, a la Hasse or Caldara or any of dozens of others in Italy and Vienna, he certainly maintained a link with his past. His 1762 azione teatrale, Acide, which used a libretto ostensibly by Migliavacci, was really just an adaptation of Metastasio's Galatea. And in 1769 when he set Goldoni's Le Pescatrici, he dumped one of Goldoni's arias and instead he set an aria from that same Galatea into one of the more dramatic moments in the opera. There is also no reason to posit isolation from each other. At the least, as we saw previously, Marianna Martines, friend to both, held hugely popular salons at her residence which could have easily brought the two back together on a regular basis. That said, however, let us not forget the fact opera seria was fast losing popularity in Vienna, and instead, so-called 'reform' opera, fostered by Vienna's own 'other' opera giant, Christoph Willibald Gluck, was in its ascendancy. One can use these generalities to help characterize reform opera:

• mixed aria forms, both buffa and seria types of characters.
• important use of chorus and ballet
• decreased use of vocal ornamentation and cadenzas
• orchestral accompanied recitative instead of secco (dry, unaccompanied).
• a return to Greek mythological plots

No opera, of course, incorporated all of these facets, but they all used some of them. The importance of Gluck, with his librettist Calzibigi, cannot be overemphasized in all this dramatic change. Gluck's influence on Haydn can be traced in many ways; among others is the frequent quotation by Haydn of familiar Gluck musical themes in places throughout his career, for example in the first movement of symphony #8, Le Soir. But the most prominent and frequently used reminiscence is of themes of the aria Che farò senza Euridice from 1762's Orfeo ed Euridice. Haydn uses musical quotes from this aria as soon as two months after its première in his opera Acide, and as late as 1791 in his own 'Orpheus opera' for London, L'anima del filisofo.

All of which brings us to 1779, symbolism, Metastasio, Enlightenment values and the Prince's Name Day! It is a likely thing for Haydn to have given a musical Name Day gift to Nicholas every year. We only have documentation for a few of them, like the great Italian cantatas of 1763 and 1764, or the 'Birthday Trio' for Baryton, and the Nikolaimesse of 1772. Certainly there were more, probably even music we know, but don't know the association. But an entire opera, this was big!

The story:
Costanza, her very young sister Silvia and husband Gernando and his companions are shipwrecked by a storm onto a deserted island. While Costanza is asleep, Gernando and the crew wander off looking for food or some sort of supplies and are captured by pirates. When she wakes up she can't find him and believes he has deserted them. Years pass, Silvia grows into a nubile young woman, Costanza into an embittered lady. She spends her days pining and whining while Silvia grows into a comely child of nature. Costanza uses Gernando's broken sword to chisel her own epitaph onto a large rock, "Abandoned by the faithless Gernando, Costanza ended her days on this alien shore. Kindly traveler, if you are not a tiger, either avenge or pity my fate".

One day Silvia spies a ship on the horizon, and hides herself to watch what happens. It is Gernando and Enrico, returned at last to rescue them. Overcoming her initial fear of men, deeply instilled by her sister, she becomes intrigued enough with Enrico to approach him and speak. Gernando, meanwhile has found Costanza's rock and, believing she is dead, threatens to join her there. Enrico prevents him from carrying out this plan, and Silvia tells him the facts, that Costanza thinks she has been abandoned. Costanza arrives and eventually everyone is on the same page as to what happened. They sing, sing some more, and sail off to happiness.

It's a good story, timely in view of the Barbary pirates in the news, the Crusoe/Desert Island story craze at the time, the adventuring which dominated popular culture. What makes it all better is Metastasio's superb poetry, amply supported by Haydn's music. In a manner which would have been clear to the Prince, his domain, risen from the mire, is symbolized as an island where the residents are one with nature. This is a very powerful Enlightenment symbol, that of man and nature as one. There are several lyrical episodes which express this sentiment. In addition to praising the Prince's accomplishments, Haydn also gives a nod to Metastasio by showing how one of his librettos is equally powerful when treated in the modern manner, not just in the way it was designed. And finally, using allusions to Gluck's music in a way which clearly demonstrates its quality is also tributary to Gluck, recognizing his contributions to opera. In all, Haydn swept the board with this one. You really should give it a listen.

Next time we will look at the year 1780, when our new entrepreneur is unleashed!

Thanks for reading!