|
Hob. # |
Libretto |
Genre |
Name |
Notes / Instruments |
|
24b:5 |
Aria |
Dice benissimo |
Replacement aria for 'Lumaca' (Baritone) in La scuola de'gelosi by Antonio Salieri |
|
|
28:10 |
Giambattista Lorenzi (modified for Haydn by an unknown hand) |
Dramma pastorale giocoso (a comic opera with pastoral qualities) |
La fedeltà premiata or Fidelity Rewarded |
Flute, 2 Oboes, Bassoon, 2 Trumpets, 2 Horns, Timpani, Violins I & II, Viola, Cello, Violone and Continuo (Cembalo) |
The castle itself was in an uproar as a result of the new theater. Armies of masons, architects, roof-layers, glass-makers, upholsterers, stage designers and painters descended on Eszterháza. There was enormous jealousy between the architects and the confusion rose to a raucous height when the rival architect won and, at the end of February and beginning of March, 1780, all the main walls were taken down and redone from new plans. Nothing seemed to be going right. To seal the tiled roof from rain, one of the contractors put on a fascinating mixture of 'Braunrot' (red earth), linseed oil, ten buckets of beer and six buckets of oxblood – a mixture which he considered would make the roof absolutely watertight. This was, by now, August of 1780. Shortly thereafter a shattering thunderstorm broke over Eszterháza and rain poured for three days and nights. The water soon seeped in to the newly decorated theater. The Princely Grenadiers worked day and night to save the interior: they went and got their bedclothes which they put over the new furniture (for which they were handsomely rewarded by the Prince). The damage was soon cleaned up but later in the Autumn another storm came, and they ended up building a completely new roof under the tiled roof with its beer and oxblood [sealing] mixture! Tempers were frayed all the autumn as the proposed [opening] date of October 15 drew near. The day came, but the theater was a shambles of gold leaf in buckets, stage designs, half-executed costumes… and so it was not until 25 February, 1781, that Haydn's brilliant new opera opened the beautiful new theater at Eszterháza, its new decorations gleaming in the candlelight.
H.C. Robbins-Landon: Liner note to Dorati's 'La Fedeltà Premiata'
Yet another reminder of this basic rule of life: even a Prince who can buy anything else still can't buy time! Having spent several years of my life in the construction business, this entire passage brings back a flood of memories and rings totally true to life. I can easily imagine the chagrin!
Thus was born Haydn's most popular opera buffa from the Eszterháza years. It was given seventeen times in 1781, and multiple times thereafter. Yet it is interesting to see the criticism it has received in modern times, with its 'unbelievable plot' and story lines. In fact, most operas had elements of the unbelievable. And many had monsters, for that matter. Mozart's contemporaneous Idomeneo being a case in point. But even the sternest modern critics don't fault the music though, it was brilliant then and it is brilliant now. Here is a thumbnail of the story line. As it happens, I'm a big fan of lake monsters, so it all seems reasonable to me! The plot is part thriller about lovers being sacrificed to the monster, part burlesque sending up pseudo-classical and early romantic emotions. So it has come by its comedy designation quite honestly.
The characters:
|
Celia, her real name being Fillide |
mezzo-soprano |
|
Fileno, lover of Fillide |
tenor |
|
Amaranta, a vain and arrogant lady |
soprano |
|
Count Perruchetto, a count of extravagant disposition |
bass |
|
Nerina, a nymph, fickle in love, enamored of Lindoro |
soprano |
|
Lindoro, Amaranta's brother |
tenor |
|
Melibeo, High priest, in love with Amaranta |
bass |
|
Diana, goddess of The Hunt |
soprano |
The people of Cumae worship Diana, goddess of hunting and chastity. Their rites however have been defiled by a nymph whose treachery has brought a curse on them. To propitiate the angry goddess, two faithful lovers must be sacrificed each year to a lake monster until a faithful lover can be found to offer his own life. Needless to say, fidelity is at a premium in Cumae, and victims are hard to find.
Melibeo is presiding over preliminary rites on a day of sacrifice, assisted by Lindoro and Nerina, who have been having an affair, but now Lindoro is tired of Nerina and hopes for a liaison with the shepherdess 'Celia'. Lindoro's sister Amaranta, recently arrived in Cumae, comes to worship. She is on the look-out for a lover but startled to hear of the risk in true love. Melibeo explains that High Priests are exempt, so she might like to hook up with him. She agrees, on condition that he favors her brother's suit with Celia. Perrucchetto arrives claiming to have been chased by robbers. He sees Amaranta, and she, him, and they instantly fall in love (Perruchetto being a Count helps). Melibeo is not happy!
Young shepherd Fileno mourns the death of his beloved Fillide (Celia), whom he believes was killed by a snake. He is told by Nerina of Lindoro's desertion and she begs him to plead on her behalf; Fileno agrees (not realizing that Celia is actually his beloved Fillide).
Celia arrives with her sheep in search of her lover Fileno and sleeps amongst her flock. Nerina returns with Fileno, who, to his amazement and delight recognizes Celia – alive and well. He is unaware of the fatal penalty awaiting faithful lovers, but Celia, spotting Melibeo waiting to pounce, spurns Fileno to save his life: naturally he is angry and desolate. Fileno, intent on self-destruction, goes off followed by Celia, who is followed by Lindoro and Perrucchetto, who sees in Celia a more enticing prospect than Amaranta, who in turn is offended and turns back to Melibeo. Perrucchetto, rejected by Celia returns to make peace with Amaranta but then chases Nerina, infuriating Amaranta.
Holy cow!!!
And in that little nutshell, the entire plot lies exposed. See how simple that was? We will be treated to Diana, goddess as monster, and a hunt recreated on stage, where Fileno will prove his quality. The Opera House at Eszterháza became justly famous for its 'latest and greatest' stage machinery, but this was the first time it was used. It must have been quite a spectacle at the première!
As we will see next year, the brilliant overture to this opera was used again as the finale of a symphony, #73 in D. What can be underappreciated in this factoid is that the main horn call used to simulate the hunt is not simulated at all, it is an actual ancient horn call, the French one called La vue. It would have been blown when the quarry was sighted. Since the Prince was an avid hunter, and hunting was a large part of life at Eszterháza (a former hunting lodge, after all), he would have appreciated this little bit of authenticity.
Haydn uses the horn in other symbolic ways, too. For example, proficiency in the hunt is associated with bravery and loyalty. The hunting music and hunting imagery is associated with Fileno, and symbolize these traits in his character. And when Celia is thinking about Fileno, her aria Deh soccorri un'infelice uses a beautiful muted horn solo to represent her thoughts of him. Also in 1780, we see the insertion aria Dice benissimo for 'Lumaca' in La scuola de'gelosi by Antonio Salieri. Here, Haydn uses horns based on the then-well-known pun for 'cuckold's horns' which he associates with Lumaca, showing him to be the cuckold. Haydn's use of horns throughout his career has been the subject of much study, and rightly so. If one is interested in this topic, there is a web page devoted to historic brass which has essays available for you to peruse. You would only appreciate Haydn's genius that much more!
As with all of Haydn's operas, this one has not been performed often in modern times. There are three recordings though, two of which I have pictured here. It was also performed at England's Glyndbourne Opera in 1979, but the original plan to film it for television broadcast fell through due to a broadcast workers' strike. It is a work which would stand up well to a modern performance, the story is funny and interesting, the plot convoluted yet intelligible, and the music fantastic. We can always hope.
Next time we will move the whole show ahead into 1781 proper, some nice music will again present itself, and we will be there to listen!
Thanks for reading!