Philemon und Baucis (Haydn)

Composition history#

Premiering in 1773 for a visit from Empress Maria Theresa, Philemon und Baucis is Haydn’s first puppet-opera, and the first known to be written for the Eszterháza Marionettentheater (puppet theater). Philemon und Baucis was revised to be a traditional opera in 1776. In 1950, an original manuscript was uncovered at the Paris Conservatoire by musicologist and Haydn scholar Jens Peter Larsen. Until this discovery, all that remained of the work was its overture and a single aria. The rest of the puppet-opera, including the arrival of Jupiter, the pageant, and the epilogue, which glorified the Empress and the Habsburgs, remain lost, likely destroyed in the Eszterháza fire of 1779.

Roles#

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

Part I#

: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#

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#

• 1953: Meinhard von Zallinger (cond.); Vienna Symphony Orchestra; Erich Majkut (Philemon), Susana Naidic (Baucis), Waldemar Kmentt (Aret), Elisabeth Roon (Narcissa); choir of the Vienna State Opera. LP, Vox PL 7660
• 2009 (rec. 2002): (cond.); ; Manuel Warwitz (Philemon), Nathalie Vinzent (Baucis), Bernhard Berchtold (Aret), (Narcissa); Kammerchor Salzburg. CD, Profil PH 09038
• 2009 (rec. 2008): (cond.); ; Christoph Genz (Philemon), Maren Engelhardt (Baucis), (Aret), (Narcissa); Vocalforum Graz. BIS-SACD-1813

External links#

*Kiss Tividar (Aret) and Gabi Gál (Narcissa):