At the end of the 1970s
when Philips started to issue a series
of Haydn operas it was practically unknown
fact that he had indulged in this genre.
The reference books dismissed the Haydn
operas them as of marginal importance
and they were rarely if ever performed.
True, I had seen a performance of Il
mondo della luna at the Drottningholm
Court Theatre a few years earlier. I
found this amusing with splendid music
but its action felt outdated. The Philips
series, conducted by Antal Dorati, was
an eye-opener and by general consent
Orlando Paladino was the masterpiece.
Nikolaus Harnoncourt goes as far as
saying that it is "one of the best
works in 18th century music
theatre". Haydn contributed an
exceptionally inventive and varied score
to a libretto that was not written specifically
for him but for the Italian composer
Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi. It is of
course built on the "Chanson de
Roland", written around 1100. During
the Renaissance Boiardo extended the
story in his unfinished poem "Orlando
inammorato" and Ariosto went one
step further in his "Orlando furioso".
Both Lully and Handel wrote operas on
the subject, in 1685 and 1733 and so
came Guglielmi’s "Le pazzie di
Orlando", performed in London in
1771, where he explored the humorous
side of the subject. The text Haydn
set was further developed but is in
the main the same story as Guglielmi’s.
It was performed at Esterháza
in 1782, 1783 and 1784 and after that
was a resounding success in Central
Europe, being played during the composer’s
lifetime in Bratislava, Prague, Brünn
(Brno), Vienna, Budapest, Mannheim,
Frankfurt, Cologne, Graz, Nuremberg,
Berlin, Hanover, Bremen, Leipzig, Munich,
Augsburg, Königsberg, Hamburg,
Breslau and Dresden. Eventually it disappeared
from view, only to be revived in our
time. There is no evidence that Mozart
or Da Ponte knew the work but there
are similarities between Orlando
and Don Giovanni. Don Ottavio
could be modelled on Medoro, Donna Anna
could be a younger sister of Angelica
and Leporello has learnt a thing or
two from Pasquale, who boasts about
his travels around Europe in a kind
of catalogue aria, Ho viaggiato in
Francia, in Spagna (CD1 track 17).
This buffo character has another aria,
demonstrating his musical capacity,
imitating instruments in the Maestro
di Cappella manner, known from works
by both Cimarosa and Paër (CD2
track 16).
Having owned the Dorati
recording practically since it was new
I have long admired the enormously expressive
and varied music. I would even go as
far as saying that Papa Haydn in no
way comes second best in comparison
with Mozart. He has the same ability
to shape each aria in accordance with
the character, like Mozart leaving it
to the orchestra – very often the woodwind
– to comment. He may not go quite as
deep as his younger compatriot, but
neither are the characters as deep as
the ones in Don Giovanni or Le
nozze di Figaro. Within its own
confines this is indeed a masterpiece.
Owners of the old (1977)
Dorati recording will want to know whether
they now have to discard it and go for
this Harnoncourt version instead. For
quality there is no need at all for
a change, since Dorati’s view is as
valid today as it was almost thirty
years ago and his singers are all out
of the top-drawer. There are differences,
however, and I will try to outline them.
The most important
difference is that Dorati has a chamber
orchestra playing on modern instruments
while Harnoncourt has his original ensemble
Concentus Musicus playing period instruments
and utilizing consonant playing techniques.
There is no mistaking this for a modern
instrument group but I must admit that
nowadays even the authentic movement
ensembles have reached a quality and
dynamic power close to those achieved
by modern orchestras. While Dorati’s
band plays extremely well, with rhythmic
acuity and transparent sound, Harnoncourt’s
orchestra is even more sharply articulated
and "cleaner". The more clipped
phrasing in places gives a staccato
effect which places the music closer
to the baroque. The vibrato-less playing
of the strings also erases romantic
connections. Not that Dorati is particularly
romantic in his approach but there is
a more smoothed-out quality. Harnoncourt
also, as is his wont, projects sharper
contrasts between forte and piano;
moreover, the period instruments render
the music more "modern" with
Haydn’s bold instrumentation in places
getting a sharper edge. Both conductors
deliver lively and alive readings but
Harnoncourt’s is more filled with contrast.
Both also play all the music. While
Dorati, as far as I understand, also
includes all – or anyway most of – the
recitatives, Harnoncourt makes quite
heavy cuts. This makes for a quicker
dramatic tempo and that is a good thing.
On the other hand Dorati and his soloists
deliver the recitatives with a good
deal of verve, while Harnoncourt in
places – but only in places – can be
dangerously slow. In the main, however,
both conductors understand Haydn and
present the score in the best possible
light.
When it comes to the
soloists there are also differences
but both casts are wonderfully consistent
and more or less mirror their respective
conductors. Dorati’s singers may be
a notch more romantically smooth, but
there is really no need for detailed
comparison. Let me just say that Dorati’s
all-star cast Arleen Augér, Elly
Ameling, Gwendolyn Killibrew, George
Shirley, Claes H Ahnsjö, Benjamin
Luxon, Domenico Trimarchi, Gabor Carelli
and Maurizio Mazzieri sing and act as
to the manner born with Ahnsjö
a stylish Medoro and Luxon a tremendous
Rodomonte. Harnoncourt’s group are just
as good with a glittering and charming
Eurilla from Swedish-born Malin Hartelius,
light and youthful with a personal timbre,
Patricia Petibon as Angelica, technically
accomplished with her very special way
of starting a long tone vibratoless
in best baroque fashion, only to let
it gradually expand and widen the vibrato,
which is fully controlled. She has a
spotless trill, fine coloratura, displayed
not least in the aria Non partir
(CD1 track 19). This is a beautiful
lament with a dramatic outburst towards
the end with quite advanced embellishments
and a thrilling flight up into the stratosphere.
Elisabeth von Magnus, best known I think
for her work in sacred music, is a perfect
sorceress, her steady mezzo-soprano
rounded and beautiful and with a great
deal of temperament.
We hear a fresh voiced
Licone in the shape of Johannes Kalpers
and Caronte (or Charon), sung with a
sonorous bass by Florian Boesch, certainly
one to watch. Werner Güra, an excellent
lieder singer and a good Bach interpreter,
too, sings Medoro with plaintive tone
and superb phrasing. Michael Schade,
whom I have had reason to admire on
several occasions lately as Mozart singer,
shows his mellifluous half voice as
well as his histrionic qualities in
Orlando’s complicated role. Identification
is a good noun for his reading.
Pasquale, the buffo
character, is normally designed for
a baritone. On Dorati’s recording it
is that expert character singer Domenico
Trimarchi who steals the show whenever
he appears. Tenor Markus Schäfer,
also a noted Bach singer, turns in a
tremendously funny portrait of the squire,
indulges in some whistling in the catalogue
aria, some hilarious falsetto singing
in the "Instruments" aria.
In the duet with Eurilla (CD2 track
8) he is so infatuated that he can only
exclaim Ah! Eh! Ih! Oh! in response
to her utterances. The audience is audibly
amused here as well as every time he
appears. Last but not least Christian
Gerhaher is a suitably furious blustery
Rodomonte with an imposing dark, remarkable
voice. He is not only one of the best
lieder singers of the day but obviously
a great dramatic presence on the opera
stage as well.
The recording was made
at some concerts in Graz – one of the
places where the opera was performed
during Haydn’s lifetime – in excellent
sound. The presence of an audience is
only noticeable when Pasquale is executing
some pranks. The booklet has a synopsis
and full text and translations. Sabine
M. Gruber’s essay is a good read.
So there we are: two
extremely enjoyable versions of this
remarkable opera. A straightforward
recommendation is difficult to give
and matters are further complicated
by the fact that the Philips recording
at present is only available as part
of a larger boxed set coupled with some
other Haydn operas from the same series.
I now own both sets. The Dorati, alas,
only on the original LPs which for some
reason has accrued a number of pops
and cracks as an added "attraction".
I can honestly say that I wouldn’t be
without either of them. First time buyers
are advised to get the Harnoncourt and
once you’ve got hooked on Haydn as opera
composer you should invest in the Philips
boxes as well - there are two with in
toto eight operas.
Bottom line: One of
the best 18th century operas
in a riveting performance that, with
ravishing singing from those involved,
is more than worth anyone’s money.
Göran Forsling
Concentus Musicus Wien/Nikolaus Harnoncourt
