List of operas by Joseph Haydn
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Joseph Haydn is not primarily remembered as a composer of opera, yet the genre occupied a great deal of his time. During the 1770s and 1780s, Haydn ran an opera troupe on behalf of his employer, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, which put on up to 150 performances per year. A number of the operas were Haydn's own work. Haydn's operas are only occasionally performed today.
The list is arranged chronologically and divided by career stage.
Contents
Composed as a freelance musician
- 1752: Der krumme Teufel, Hob. 29/1a, Singspiel (libretto by Joseph von Kurz), composed during Haydn's time as a freelance musician. Now lost.
Composed during Haydn's service for the Eszterházy family
| Date | Title | Hob. | Genre | Subdivisions | Libretto |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1762 revised 1773/1774 |
Acide e Galatea | 28/1 | festa teatrale | 1 act | G A Migliavacca |
| 1766 | La canterina (The Songstress) | 28/2 | intermezzo in musica | 2 acts | |
| 1763? | La marchesa nespola | 30/1 | comedia | ||
| 1768 | Lo speziale (The Apothecary) | 28/3 | dramma giocoso | 3 acts | Carlo Goldoni, revised by Carl Friberth? |
| 1769 | Le pescatrici (The Fishwives) | 28/4 | dramma giocoso | 3 acts | Carlo Goldoni, revised by Carl Friberth? |
| 1773 | L'infedeltà delusa (Deceit Outwitted) | 28/5 | burletta per musica | 2 acts | Marco Coltellini, revised by Carl Friberth? |
| 1773 | Philemon und Baucis | 29b/2 | Singspiel | 1 act | Gottlieb Konrad Pfeffel |
| 1775 | L'incontro improvviso (The Unexpected Encounter) | 28/6 | dramma giocoso | 3 acts | Carl Friberth, after L H Dancourt's La rencontre imprévue |
| 1777 | Il mondo della luna (The World on the Moon) | 28/7 | dramma giocoso | 3 acts | Carlo Goldoni |
| 1779 | La vera costanza (True Constancy), revised 1785 | 28/8 | dramma giocoso | 3 acts | Francesco Puttini |
| 1779 | L'isola disabitata (The Deserted Island) | 28/9 | azione teatrale | 2 parts | Metastasio |
| 1780 | La fedeltà premiata (Fidelity Rewarded) | 28/10 | dramma giocoso | 3 acts | after Giambattista's Lorenzi's L'infedeltà fedele |
| 1782 | Orlando paladino (The Paladin Orlando) | 28/11 | dramma eroicomico | 3 acts | Nunziano Porta, based on Carlo Francesco Badini's Le pazzie d'Orlando, after Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso |
| 1783 | Armida | 28/12 | dramma eroico | 3 acts | after Torquato Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata |
Composed for the first London journey
- 1791: L'anima del filosofo, ossia Orfeo ed Euridice, Hob. 28/13, dramma per musica in 4 acts (libretto by Carlo Francesco Badini). Haydn's own version of the Orpheus tale, the plot of a great many operas. Haydn's only post-Esterházy opera, composed for his 1791 trip to London but never performed there, due to intrigues.
References
- Sources
- The dates given above are from the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, as compiled by Georg Feder.
- Branscombe, Peter (1992), 'Haydn, Joseph' in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
