|
Life at Eisenstadt moved on in "calm peace and quiet," but now
and again it was stirred into special activity, when Haydn had to
put forth his efforts in various new directions. Such an occasion
came very early in his service of Prince Nicolaus, when that
pompous person made triumphant entry into Eisenstadt. The
festivities were on a regal scale and continued for a whole
month. A company of foreign players had been engaged to perform
on a stage erected in the large conservatory, and Haydn was
required to provide them with operettas. He wrote several works
of the kind, one of which, "La Marchesa Nepola," survives in the
autograph score. Later on, for the marriage of Count Anton, the
eldest son of Prince Nicolaus, in 1763, he provided a setting of
the story which Handel had already used for his "Acis and
Galatea." This work, which was performed by the Eisenstadt
Capelle, with the orchestra clad in a new uniform of crimson and
gold, bore the name of "Acide e Galatea." Portions of the score
still exist--a section of the overture, four arias, and a finale
quartet. The overture is described as being "in his own style,
fresh and cheerful, foreshadowing his symphonies. The songs are
in the Italian manner, very inferior in originality and
expression to Handel's music; the quartet is crude in form and
uninteresting in substance." [See Miss Townsend's Haydn, p. 44.]
It would seem rather ungracious, as it would certainly be
redundant to discuss these "occasional" works in detail. For one
thing, the material necessary to enable us to form a correct
estimate of Haydn's powers as a dramatic composer is wanting. The
original autograph of "Armida," first performed in 1783, is,
indeed, preserved. "Orfeo ed Euridice," written for the King's
Theatre in the Haymarket in 1791, but never staged, was printed
at Leipzig in 1806, and a fair idea of the general style of the
work may be obtained from the beautiful air, "Il pensier sta
negli oggetti," included in a collection entitled "Gemme
d'Antichita." But beyond these and the fragments previously
mentioned, there is little left to represent Haydn as a composer
of opera, the scores of most of the works written expressly for
Prince Esterhazy having been destroyed when the prince's private
theatre was burned down in 1779. What Haydn would have done for
opera if he had devoted his serious attention to it at any of the
larger theatres it is, of course, impossible to say. Judging from
what has survived of his work in this department, he was notable
for refinement rather than for dramatic power. We must, however,
remember the conditions under which he worked. He confessed
himself that his operas were fitted only for the small stage at
Esterhaz and "could never produce the proper effect elsewhere."
If he had written with a large stage in view, it may reasonably
be assumed that he would have written somewhat differently.
|
|
