The Soul of the Philosopher by Haydn, 에서 (2009/2009), 지휘자 Paul Goodwin, Theater an der Wien, Vienna, Austria

When his employer Nikolaus I died in September 1790, Joseph Haydn lost his position as princely conductor at the Esterháza court after 30 years. The London impresario Johann Peter Salomon immediately traveled to Vienna when he heard of the chance to lure the free Haydn to England. Haydn was to perform twelve symphonies and one opera seria in London. But no sooner had Haydn started rehearsals for L'anima del filosofo at the Haymarket Theater than the authorities interrupted the rehearsal of the opera on behalf of the king. Haydn got caught in a typical London opera dispute. The former solo dancer Giovanni Andrea Gallini wanted to rebuild the Haymarket Theater as an Italian opera house after a fire and establish it as a competitor to the royal patronage of the Pantheon. The eldest son of the king, the Prince of Wales, supported Gallini. But the king himself, George III, refused the necessary concessions. All performances of L'anima del filosofo had to be canceled. The librettist Carlo Francesco Badini used the popular material by Orpheus and Eurydice for “L'anima del filosofo”. In contrast to the famous setting for Gluck, he and Haydn did not envisage a triumph of love over death. The opera is said to be “of a completely different kind to that of Gluck” noted Haydn on January 8, 1791. Even in antiquity, the idea of ​​Orpheus as a philosopher, who with his singing could not only appease wild animals, but also people that civilization is said to have brought. Opposite him is Eurydice as a symbol for justice and the right measure, which Orpheus teaches to curb his desires. As an opera composer, Haydn mainly worked for the small circumstances of the Esterházy theater. When he started working on L'anima del filosofo, it had been seven years since he had completed his last opera Armida. It could have been his greatest success, but Haydn never heard his opera himself and did not compose another one until his death in 1809. The work was not premiered in Florence until 1951.