L'anima del filosofo, ossia Orfeo ed Euridice (The Soul of the Philosopher, or Orpheus and Euridice), Hob.

Hoboken-Verzeichnis

The Hoboken-Verzeichnis is the catalogue of over 750 works by Joseph Haydn as compiled by Anthony van Hoboken.Unlike Ludwig von Köchel's catalogue of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's works, or Otto Erich Deutsch's catalogue of Franz Schubert's works, which are both arranged chronologically by date of...

 28/13, is an opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 in Italian in four acts by Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn

Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...

, the last he ever wrote. The libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

, by Carlo Francesco Badini, is based on the myth of Orpheus

Orpheus

Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...

 and Euridice as told in Ovid

Ovid

Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...

's Metamorphoses. Composed in 1791, the opera was never performed during Haydn's lifetime.

After his patron Prince Nikolaus Esterházy

Nikolaus Esterházy

Nikolaus Esterházy was a Hungarian prince, a member of the famous Esterházy family. His building of palaces, extravagant clothing, and taste for opera and other grand musical productions led to his being given the title "the Magnificent"...

 had died in 1790, Haydn travelled to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 where he received a commission to write several symphonies

Symphony

A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...

. The impresario John Gallini also 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. As a result, the score was never completed and some music appears to be missing.

Performance history

L'anima del filosofo remained unperformed until 9 June 1951 when it appeared at the Teatro della Pergola, Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

 with a cast including Maria Callas

Maria Callas

Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...

 and Boris Christoff

Boris Christoff

Boris Christoff was a Bulgarian opera singer...

, under the conductor Erich Kleiber

Erich Kleiber

Erich Kleiber was an Austrian conductor.- Biography :Born in Vienna, Kleiber studied in Prague...

. It has been performed and recorded several times since then. The opera makes extensive use of the chorus.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 9 May 1951 (Conductor: Erich Kleiber)
Orfeo	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Thyge Thygesen
Euridice	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Maria Callas
Plutone	bass	Mario Frosini
Creonte	bass	Boris Christoff
Baccante	soprano	Liliana Poli
Genio	soprano	Julanna Farkas
Corifeo	baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	Edio Peruzzi
First courtier	baritone	Gino Orlandini
Second courtier/Warrior	tenor	Gino Sarri
Third courtier	baritone	Lido Pettini
Fourth courtier	tenor	Camillo Righini

The opera is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two cors anglais, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, harp, strings, continuo.

Sources

• Amadeus Almanac, accessed 25 August 2008
• The Viking Opera Guide ed. Holden (1993)