Day 55: L’Infedelta Delusa (Act I)

HaydnCD55A truly wonderful Overture kicks off another Haydn opera, this one called L’Infedelta Delusa, which is set in the Tuscan countryside. The opera may have premiered on 26 July 1773. If so, Haydn was 41.

According to its entry on Wiki this,

…is an operatic burletta per musica by Joseph Haydn. The Italian libretto was by Marco Coltellini, perhaps reworked by Carl Friberth who also took part in the first performance.

Of course, that begs the question: “What is an operatic burletta per musica”?

Fear not, Gentle Reader. I shall endeavor to ascertain the answer to that question.

And I did.

From its entry on Wiki, here’s the definition of burletta (it was just what I expected):

A burletta (Italian, meaning little joke), also sometimes burla or burlettina, is a musical term generally denoting a brief comic Italian (or, later, English) opera. The term was used in the 18th century to denote the comic intermezzos between the acts of an opera seria, but was sometimes given to more extended works; Pergolesi’s La serva padrona was designated a ‘burletta’ at its London premiere in 1750.

In England the term began to be used, in contrast to burlesque, for works that satirized opera but without using musical parody. Burlettas in English began to appear in the 1760s, the earliest identified being Midas by Kane O’Hara, first performed privately in 1760 near Belfast, and produced at Covent Garden in 1764. The form became debased when the term ‘burletta’ began to be used for English comic or ballad operas, as a way of evading the monopoly on opera in London belonging to Covent Garden and Drury Lane. After repeal of the 1737 Licensing Act in 1843, use of the term declined.

The word ‘burletta’ has also been used for scherzo-like instrumental music by composers including Max Reger and Bartók. In America, the word has sometimes been used as an alternative for burlesque.

So, the term that was once used to denote a legitimate genre of opera became what we now think of as burlesque. Figures.

Here is the cast from the premiere performance in 1773:

HaydnOperaRolesThe Cast (today):

Vespina: Magda Kalmar soprano
Sandrina: Julia Paszthy soprano
Filippo: Istvan Rozsos tenor
Nencio: Attila Fulop tenor
Nanni: Jozsef Gregor bass

The Orchestra:

Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra, Budapest
Frigyes Sandor, conductor

Recording Location:

Esterhazy Castle, Eisenstadt

The vocal performances are superb, and the recording is likewise excellent, despite it being recorded some 40 years ago. (Brilliant Classics does nothing half-assed. They have a world-wide reputation for offering high-quality recordings at extremely reasonable prices. And, no, they’re not paying me to say that. I sure wish they would.)

As I mentioned above, the Overture is delightful. And, so far,  I’m diggin’ the Introduction (with all performers taking part), too. The voices blend well together. I’m looking forward to hearing more from them singly, in the arias.

The Recitative (Track 3) with Filippo and Sandrina is also very good. Istvan Rozsos (Hungarian for Stephen Rye) has a fine voice. Powerful.

The next aria (Track 6) features the character Sandrina, performed by soprano Julia Paszthy. Her voice, at times, sounds more mezzo-soprano than soprano, although her crystal-clear high notes are clearly the work of a soprano.

As I discovered listening to Haydn opera awhile ago, I’m an aria kinda guy. I love hearing the individual performers show off, although it matters who the performers are. For example, Track 8 features bass Jozsef Gregor. I generally prefer sopranos and tenors. (Okay, I’m an opera snob.) Be that as it may, Jozsef Gregor’s performance was quite nice.

By the way, here’s the definition of the word aria:

An aria (Italian for air; plural: arie, or arias in common usage, diminutive form arietta) in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term became used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without orchestral accompaniment, normally part of a larger work. The typical context for arias is opera, but vocal arias also feature in oratorios and cantatas, sharing features of the operatic arias of their periods.

The Finale (Track 14) was also quite spirited. A wonderful performance featuring the entire cast belting out the melodramatic dialogue. Especially the sopranos. They were hitting notes that I’m surprised didn’t shatter glass. Or my eardrums. As I mentioned at the outset, the performers’ voices blended very well.

This was one of the most consistently excellent of the Haydn opera to which I’ve listened. I’ll have to give this one the seal of approval as a category designation: Favorite Haydn Opera.

Here’s what I heard today (the exact same performance):

That YouTube clip contains the entire opera. I only listened to Act I this morning. So don’t cheat. Save Act II for tomorrow. Only listen up to about 1:06:43.

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