| Composer: | Joseph Haydn |
| Image Upright: | 0.8 |
| Other Name: | Orfeo ed Euridice |
| Translated Name: | The Soul of the Philosopher |
| Librettist: | Carlo Francesco Badini |
| Based On: | Myth of Orpheus |
| Language: | Italian |
| Premiere Location: | Teatro della Pergola, Florence |
Italian: 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 and is one of the last two operas written during his life, the other being Armida (1783).The libretto, by Carlo Francesco Badini, is based on the myth of Orpheus and Euridice as told in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Composed in 1791 for His Majesty's Theatre during his first visit to England,[1] the opera was never performed during Haydn's lifetime and only given its formal premiere in 1951.[2]
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. There are some uncertainties about why the opera was banned at the time.
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.[3]
Various manuscripts were scattered in several European libraries.[4] H. C. Robbins Landon did much to assemble the available scores.
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.[5] It has been performed and recorded several times since then. The opera makes extensive use of the chorus.
| Orfeo | tenor | Thyge Thygesen | |
| Euridice | soprano | Maria Callas | |
| Plutone | bass | Mario Frosini | |
| Creonte | bass | Boris Christoff | |
| Baccante | soprano | Liliana Poli | |
| Genio | soprano | Julanna Farkas | |
| First courtier | baritone | Camillo Righini | |
| Second courtier/Warrior | tenor | Gino Orlandini | |
| Third courtier | baritone | Edio Peruzzi | |
| Fourth courtier | tenor | Lido Pettini |
The opera is scored for a 12-instrument classical chamber orchestra:
Haydn borrowed previously composed music as the basis for select portions of the opera. One notable example is Genio's "C Major" aria which was a reformed version of Flaminia's aria "Ragion nell'alma siede" from the 1773 opera, Philemon und Baucis.[6]