Organization

Conductor

Gianluca Capuano

Chorus master

Jacopo Facchini

Singer

Bass

Thomas Hampson

Creonte

Soprano

Cecilia Bartoli

Euridice

Tenor

Rolando Villazón

Orfeo

Mélissa Petit

Genio

Salzburger Festspiele

Orchestra

Les Musiciens du Prince - Monaco

Il Canto di Orfeo

Italian

L'anima del filosofo -  (The Soul of the Philosopher)

Salzburg

Austria

Whitsun Festival

Felsenreitschule

L'anima del filosofo Haydn,FJ

Public

Private

The Soul of the Philosopher

German

English

Approved

In 1790, after almost thirty years at the Eszterháza court, Joseph Haydn suddenly found himself without an employer. When this came to the ears of impresario Johann Peter Salomon, he promptly engaged Haydn to come to London. There, in addition to twelve symphonies, Haydn would write an opera seria for the Haymarket Theatre. Although regarded as an instrumental composer, Haydn was an experienced opera Kapellmeister who had distinguished himself at the princely court with adapted performances of other works as well as seventeen operas of his own. Haydn was supplied with a libretto on the preferred subject matter of Orpheus written by Carlo Francesco Badini. Although countless works on this theme had been composed since 1600, Gluck’s reform opera Orfeo ed Euridice was regarded as the absolute measure: reduced to its mythological core, it focusses on the power of love. Thus composer and librettist were forced to explore new paths. Badini’s libretto featured a complex plot with a dramatic conclusion. Haydn wrote extended numbers for the chorus but also included intermezzi and dance interludes as well as richly ornamented coloraturas in traditional da capo arias and scored the work for the largest orchestral forces to be found in his oeuvre. The premiere was cancelled when King George III refused permission for it to be staged. L’anima del filosofo was to remain unperformed until its premiere in Florence in 1951.

The Soul of the Philosopher by Haydn, From (2023/2023), Conductor Gianluca Capuano, Felsenreitschule, Salzburg, Austria

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues