Organization

Singer

Bass-baritone

Dietrich Henschel

Buonafede

Tenor

Bernard Richter

Ecclitico

Countertenor

Vivica Genaux

Ernesto

Soprano

Julia Kleiter

Clarice

Irena Bespalovaite

Flaminia

Mezzo-soprano

Maité Beaumont

Lisetta

Markus Schäfer

Cecco

Conductor

Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Stage director

Tobias Moretti

Set designer

Renate Martin

Andreas Donhauser

Costume designer

Heidi Hackl

Dramaturge

Sebastian Huber

Lighting designer

Olaf Winter

MusikTheater an der Wien

Orchestra

Concentus Musicus Vienna

Italian

Il mondo della luna -  (Life on the Moon)

Vienna

Austria

Theater an der Wien

At the end of the Haydn year 2009 (200th anniversary of his death), the Theater an der Wien, one of the most innovative opera houses in Europe, staged Joseph Haydn's comic opera "Il mondo della luna" (The World on the Moon). Nikolaus Harnoncourt, a world-renowned pioneer of original sound, who celebrated his 80th birthday the day after the premiere, stood at the conductor's podium. Austrian actor Tobias Moretti directed the film.
Haydn's opera is based on a libretto by the Italian comedy writer Carlo Goldoni (1707-1793): the merchant Buonafede is strictly against his daughter Clarissa having a relationship with the young Leandro. A doctor from Bologna appears and invites Buonafede to a trip to the moon. This has always been Buonafade's dream! A world on the moon is made to appear to him, but it is not at all as beautiful as he had imagined! Buonafede finally realizes that he has been betrayed and is more opposed than ever to his daughter's marriage. But there is a happy ending...
"A delightful mixture of satire, multiple times disguise comedy and science fiction, long before the word was invented. Haydn's setting, performed as exemplary as it is now at the Theater an der Wien, can become a real gem of operatic literature." (FAZ)

Il mondo della luna Haydn

Life on the Moon

German

Approved

Have you ever flown to the moon just by the power of your own imagination? At Esterháza Palace, in the summer of 1777, Joseph Haydn sent the guests of the princely wedding celebrations into the fantastic universe around 190 years before the first moon landing with the help of their imagination. For Il mondo della luna he resorted to a tried and tested opera material from the pen of the Italian comedy poet Carlo Goldoni and created a game about human longings, the legendary moon and a world that is upside down.

Ecclitico is after Clarice and Ernesto loves her sister Flaminia. But Buonafede, father of the two young women and himself an amateur astronomer, is strictly against these connections. He also views the growing affection of his servant Cecco for the chambermaid Lisetta with skepticism, after all he has his own interests with regard to Lisetta. But the young lovers do not give up. With a trick they trick the moonstruck Buonafede into believing that he has landed on the moon. Space exploration and the joys of love increasingly merge in the garden at home to create a ludicrous confusion. Direct hit: In the end, a triple wedding beckons!

In Haydn's resounding description of the lunar landscape, instead of stones and dust, there are fragrant flowers and green forests, instead of silence chirping birds and lyrically brilliant arias. Haydn was internationally known for his operas and was even invited to spectacular trips to England. No wonder, because this sparkling, imaginative music by the funniest composer of the Viennese classic is really addicting to the "moon"!

English

Life on the Moon by Haydn, From (2009/2009), Directed by Tobias Moretti,, Conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Theater an der Wien, Vienna, Austria

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues