Il ritorno di Tobia
Il ritorno di Tobia (The Return of Tobias) is an
The Italian-language libretto of the work is by Giovanni Gastone Boccherini , brother of the composer Luigi Boccherini. This libretto is harshly criticized by Olleson, who notes that the author de-dramatizes vivid episodes in the source (the story of Tobit in the Apocrypha), depriving Haydn of the opportunity for highly dramatic musical utterance.[1]
The work was premiered in Vienna on 2 April 1775, under the sponsorship of the Tonkünstler-Societät, a musician's benevolent society. The musical forces were substantial: Smither writes: "characteristic of the large forces used for the Tonkünstler-Societät concerts, the orchestra, chorus, and soloists possibly numbered more than 180 performers." He adds that the premiere was "enormously successful."[2]
In 1784, Haydn substantially revised the work, with cuts to make numbers shorter and new choruses, for another of the Tonkünstler-Societät's benefit concerts. It is thought that at this concert Haydn first met Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who became his good friend. One of the soprano soloists was Nancy Storace, also a friend of Haydn, who later was Mozart's first Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro.[1]
In 1808 the oratorio made a third appearance on the program of the Tonkünstler-Societät, this time in a revised version by the now-elderly composer's pupil,
Today, Il ritorno di Tobia is eclipsed by Haydn's later works in this genre – The Creation and The Seasons – and is seldom performed or recorded.[3]
Setting
Soloists:
- Tobia (tenor)
- Anna, Tobia's mother (alto)
- Tobit, Tobia's father (bass)
- Sara, Tobia's wife (soprano)
- Raffaele, an angel (soprano)
Hebrew choir (SATB) and orchestra
The venue of the event is the Tobias parents' house in Nineveh.
Recordings
- 1980 – Barbara Hendricks (Raffaelle), Linda Zoghby (Sara), Della Jones (Anna), Philip Langridge (Tobia), Benjamin Luxon (Tobit) – Brighton Festival Chorus, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Antal Doráti – 3 CDs (Decca Records)
- 1987 – Magda Kalmár (Raffaelle), Veronika Kincses (Sara), Klára Takács (Anna), Attila Fülöp (Tobia), Zsolt Bende (Tobit) – Budapest Madrigal Choir, Budapest State Orchestra, Ferenc Szekeres – 3 CDs (Hungaroton)
- 2006 – Roberta Invernizzi (Raffaelle), Sophie Karthäuser (Sara), Ann Hallenberg (Anna), Anders J. Dahlin (Tobia), Nikolay Borchev (Tobit) – VokalEnsemble Köln, Capella Augustina, Andreas Spering – 3 CDs (Naxos)
References
Notes
Sources
- Olleson, Edward (2009) "Il ritorno di Tobia". Article in David Wyn Jones (2009) Oxford Composer Companions: Haydn. Oxford University Press.
- Smither, Howard E. (1977) A History of the Oratorio. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
External links
- Il ritorno di Tobia: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project