About this Artist

• Biography

Editorial Reviews

Joseph Haydn the composer of symphonies, string quartets, piano trios, piano sonatas, and a plethora of other instrumental works was also Joseph Haydn the composer, director, and producer of operas. His employer, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, greatly enjoyed opera, and for nearly 20 years Haydn's full-time job was running the theater at Esterháza, the Prince's pleasure palace in Hungary. In the first decade, Haydn wrote 10 operas for his company, the most successful of which ran for 20 performances. In tone, they range from the comic to the semi-serious to the wholly serious, and in quality, they range between the operas of Gluck and Mozart. The superlative series of performances recorded in the '70s by Antal Dorati with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and Les Choeurs de la Radio Suisse Ramande and a star-studded cast of soloists remain the only available recordings for most of these works. Although that's surely a shame considering the quality of Haydn's music, at least the music is in good hands. Dorati, of course, has been justly celebrated for his recording with the Philharmonia Hungarica of Haydn's complete symphonies and he's every bit as attuned to Haydn's style in the operas. In the four works included here -- "Armida," "La Fedelta Premiata," "Orlando Paladino," and "La Vera Costanza" -- Dorati is joined by such outstanding singers as Jessye Norman, Frederica von Stade, Arleen Augér, Elly Ameling, and Helen Donath. And that's only the women: the men include Samuel Ramey, George Shirley, and Anthony Rolfe Johnson. Anyone who enjoys Haydn's music or Mozart's operas will surely enjoy this set. Philips' sound is crisp, detailed, and deep. James Leonard, All Music Guide

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