Philemon und Baucis (Haydn)

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Philemon und Baucis
Opera by Joseph Haydn
Portrait by Thomas Hardy, 1791
LanguageGerman
Based onPhilemon und Baucis: Ein Schauspiel in Versen von einem Aufzuge by Gottlieb Konrad Pfeffel
Premiere
2 September 1773 (1773-09-02)[1][2]
Esterháza puppet theater

Philemon und Baucis, oder Jupiters Reise auf die Erde (Philemon and Baucis, or Jupiter's Journey to Earth), Hob. XXIXb:2, is an opera in one act by Austrian composer Joseph Haydn to a German libretto, possibly by Prince Esterházy's librarian, Phillip Georg Bader.[3][4] The text is based upon a play by G. K. Pfeffel,[5][6][7] itself a retelling of the Baucis and Philemon myth from Ovid's Metamorphoses.[8] The work is in the form of a Singspiel.[9]

Composition history[edit]

Hob. No. Subtitles Dates Key Notes
XXIXa:1 Philemon und Baucis 1773 puppet-opera
XXIXa:1a Prelude to XXIXa:1 D major Der Götterat; music lost
XXIXb:2 Philemon und Baucis 1776 D minor Singspiel after puppet-opera XXIXa:1

Premiering in 1773 for a visit from Empress Maria Theresa,[2][10] Philemon und Baucis is Haydn's first puppet-opera,[4][11] and the first known to be written for the Eszterháza Marionettentheater (puppet theater).[1][12] Its premiere was complemented by a Vorspiel, Der Götterrat (The Council of the Gods), and possibly Haydn's Symphony No. 50, Hob. I:50.[13] Philemon und Baucis was revised to be a traditional opera in 1776.[14][15]

In 1950, an original manuscript was uncovered at the Paris Conservatoire by musicologist and Haydn scholar Jens Peter Larsen.[16][17] Until this discovery, all that remained of the work was its overture and a single aria.[8] Apart from the score for the main story, the manuscript included the entrance of Diana[13] and additional music by Haydn (including an aria from Il mondo della luna), Carlo d'Ordoñez, and Gluck.[8][18][19] The rest of the puppet-opera, including the arrival of Jupiter, the pageant, and the epilogue, which glorified the Empress and the Habsburgs,[12][20] remain lost, likely destroyed in the Eszterháza fire of 1779.[8]

Roles[edit]

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 2 September 1773
Conductor: Joseph Haydn[4]
Humans
Philemon, old man tenor Johann Haydn
Baucis, his wife soprano Elisabeth Griessler
Aret, their son tenor Michael Ernst
Narcissa, his wife soprano Eleonora Jager
Chorus: peasants
Gods
Mercury spoken
Jupiter spoken

The opera is scored for 2 oboes, bassoon, 2 horns, 2 clarini (natural trumpets), timpani, 2 violins, viola, and continuo.

Synopsis[edit]

Philémon et Baucis donnant l'hospitalité à Jupiter et Mercure by Jean-Bernard Restout, 1769

Part I[edit]

Setting: A village in ancient Phrygia

Philemon and Baucis, husband and wife, assist their son Aret and his fiancé Narcissa in preparing for their wedding. As narrator, Mercury furtively watches the family and the other peasants of the village as their behavior grows more and more raucous and depraved. The other gods entreat Jupiter to stop the madness. At the top of Mount Olympus, the gods agree to send a storm upon Phrygia as punishment. The oncoming storm surprises the peasants, and Aret and Narcissa are killed by a bolt of lightning. At first, Philemon and Baucis beg the gods for mercy, but eventually resolve to accept the divine judgment. The storm dissipates.

Part II[edit]

After being rejected from all other homes in the village, Jupiter and Mercury arrive at the doorstep of Philemon and Baucis, dressed incognito as vagabonds. The old couple invites the gods inside their hut, still lamenting the passing of Aret and Narcissa, whose ashes are preserved in urns. Touched by the couple's hospitality and grief, Jupiter and Mercury reveal their true identities and reanimate the bodies of Aret and Narcissa from the ashes. Filled with gratitude, Philemon and Baucis plead with Jupiter to turn their hut into a temple so that they may serve his honor as priest and priestess. Jupiter agrees, and everyone sings his praises. The gods rebuke the earlier unwelcoming peasants before ascending to heaven.

Recordings[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Beller, Manfred (1967). Philemon und Baucis in Der Europäischen Literatur: Stoffgeschichte und Analyse [Philemon and Baucis in European Literature: History and Analysis] (in German). Heidelberg: de:Universitätsverlag Winter. p. 108. ISBN 9783825317997. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Landon, H. C. Robbins (1981). Haydn, a Documentary Study. London: Thames & Hudson. p. 214. ISBN 9780847803880. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  3. ^ Landon, H. C. Robbins (1954). Westrup, Sir Jack (ed.). New Oxford History of Music: The Age of Enlightenment, 1745-1790. Vol. 7. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 177. ISBN 9780193163072. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Griffel, Margaret Ross (2018). "Philemon und Baucis". Operas in German: A Dictionary. Vol. 1. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield. p. 373. ISBN 9781442247970. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  5. ^ Irmen, Hans-Josef [in German] (2007). Joseph Haydn: Leben und Werk [Joseph Haydn: Life and Work] (in German). Vienna; Cologne; Weimar: Böhlau Verlag. p. 141. ISBN 9783412200206. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  6. ^ Geiringer, Karl; Geiringer, Irene (1968). Haydn: A Creative Life in Music. Berkeley; Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 286. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  7. ^ Buch, David J. (2009). Magic Flutes and Enchanted Forests: The Supernatural in Eighteenth-Century Musical Theater. Chicago; London: University of Chicago Press. p. 269. ISBN 9780226078113. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d Wigmore, Richard (2011). The Faber Pocket Guide to Haydn. London: Faber and Faber. pp. 312–313. ISBN 9780571268733. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  9. ^ Holden, Amanda, ed. (2002). "Philemon und Baucis, oder Jupiters Reise auf die Erde". The New Penguin Opera Guide. United Kingdom: Penguin. p. 393. ISBN 9780140514759.
  10. ^ Clark, Caryl, ed. (2005). The Cambridge Companion to Haydn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 182. doi:10.1017/CCOL9780521833479. ISBN 9781139000895. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  11. ^ Stapert, Calvin (2014). Playing Before the Lord: The Life and Work of Joseph Haydn. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. p. 115. ISBN 9780802868527. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Landon, H. C. Robbins; Jones, David Wyn (1988). Haydn: His Life and Music. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 113. ISBN 9780253372659. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Brown, A. Peter, ed. (2002). The First Golden Age of the Viennese Symphony: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. Vol. II. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 147. ISBN 9780253334879. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  14. ^ Schenbeck, Lawrence (1996). Joseph Haydn and the Classical Choral Tradition. Hinshaw Music. p. 449. ISBN 9780937276174. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  15. ^ Blyth, Alan, ed. (1984). Opera on Record 3. Boston: Longwood Press. p. 15. ISBN 9780893415310. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  16. ^ Shepard Jr., Brooks (1962). "A Haydn Opera at Yale". Yale University Library Gazette. 36 (4). New Haven: Yale University: 184–187. JSTOR 40857941.
  17. ^ Geiringer, Karl; Geiringer, Irene (1982). Haydn: A Creative Life in Music (3rd ed.). Berkeley; Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 272. ISBN 9780520043176. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  18. ^ Dahlhaus, Carl; Döhring, Sieghart, eds. (1986). Pipers Enzyklopädie des Musiktheaters: Werke, Donizetti-Henze [Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater: Works, Donizetti-Henze] (in German). Vol. 2. Piper Verlag. p. 746. ISBN 9783492024129. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  19. ^ Porter, Andrew (1974). A Musical Season: A Critic from Abroad in America. New York City: Viking Press. p. 184. ISBN 9780670496501. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  20. ^ Landon, H. C. Robbins (1994). Haydn: Chronicle and Works. Vol. 2. London: Thames & Hudson. p. 257. ISBN 9780500011683. Retrieved July 30, 2022.

External links[edit]

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