L'anima del filosofo

L'anima del filosofo
Opera by Joseph Haydn
Portrait of the composer by Thomas Hardy, in 1791, when Haydn composed the work, his last opera
Translation	The Soul of the Philosopher
Other title	Orfeo ed Euridice
Language	Italian
Based on	Myth of Orpheus
Premiere	9 June 1951 (1951-06-09) Teatro della Pergola, Florence

L'anima del filosofo, ossia Orfeo ed Euridice (The Soul of the Philosopher, or Orpheus and Euridice), Hob. 28/13, is an opera in Italian in four acts by Joseph Haydn, the last he wrote. The libretto, by , is based on the myth of Orpheus and Euridice as told in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Composed in 1791, the opera was never performed during Haydn's lifetime.

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 and the Prince of Wales he was refused permission to stage it in May 1791.^[1] There are some uncertainties about why the opera was banned at the time.^{[clarification needed]}

The score was nearly completed but was not published in its complete form before the 20th century. It was partially published by Breitkopf & Härtel in c. 1807.^[2]

Various manuscripts were scattered in several European libraries.^[3] 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 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.^[4]

It has been performed and recorded several times since then.

The opera makes extensive use of the chorus.

Roles[]

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, continuo.

References[]

Further reading[]

• The Viking Opera Guide, ed. Amanda Holden (1993)

External links[]

• L'anima del filosofo: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Loder, Sue (16 August 2007). "Haydn's L'anima del filosofo (Orfeo ed Eurydice) — A rare performance at Glimmerglass this summer, as part of their 'Orpheus' 2007 Festival season". Opera Today. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
• McCallum, Peter (4 December 2010). "L'anima del filosofo: Orpheus and Eurydice". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 July 2013.