Il Mondo Della Luna

Some of Franz Josef Haydn's works—especially the later orchestral and instrumental pieces and his two oratorios—have held their place in the repertory since the 18th century. But the operas he composed for his patron Prince Esterházy were largely forgotten until recently, which is why this 2009 performance of Il Mondo Della Luna (1777) at Austria's Theater an der Wien is so welcome. The story is a typical tale of a disapproving father tricked into allowing his two daughters and his maid to marry the men they love, but of whom he disapproves. One of the suitors hatches a scheme to persuade the elder astronomy buff that he has been transported to the moon—with the requisite strange landscape fashioned in a nearby garden by the plotter and his pals. Granted, the libretto is silly, but Haydn's music is charming, and vocalists Bernard Richter, Vivica Genaux, Dietrich Henschel, Christina Landshamer, Anja Nina Bahrmann, Maite Beaumont, and Markus Schäfer are uniformly excellent. Unfortunately, the playing of the Concentus Musicus Wien (an original-instrument ensemble) often sounds harsh rather than graceful under conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, and Tobias Moretti's staging—which updates the décor to the present—features costumes that often look more thrift shop than clever. But it's very unlikely that another version of this will appear soon, so this one is well worth purchasing. Presented in DTS 5.0 (DTS-HD 5.1 on Blu-ray) and PCM stereo, extras include a “making of” featurette. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)