Joseph Haydn: Il Ritorno Di Tobia

Anna Bonitatibus, Lucy Crowe, Neal Davies, Mauro Peter, Bettina Ranch, Salzburger Bachchor, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Ivor Bolton

In 1775, a quarter of a century before his famous oratorios "The Creation" and "The Seasons", Joseph Haydn had written his first oratorio "Il ritorno di Tobia". At the Vienna premiere conducted by him, the work was enthusiastically celebrated by the audience. This masterpiece, which despite its initial success in the 19th century fell into oblivion, is now available in an excellent new recording with a dream cast for Haydn's music. The Mozarteumorchester Salzburg under its former principal conductor Ivor Bolton, the Bachchor Salzburg and a top-class soloist ensemble: Mauro Peter (tenor), Lucy Crowe (soprano), Anna Bonitatibus (soprano), Bettina Ranch (alto), and Neal Davies (bass) "Il ritorno di Tobia", the "Return of Tobias", was commissioned by the Wiener Tonkünstler-Societät, which recorded prominent foreign musicians like Haydn. The Italian libretto was written by Giovanni Gastone Boccherini, the brother of the famous composer Luigi Boccherini. The plot tells of the return of Tobias, who was believed dead, and the healing of his blind father. Haydn and his librettist now oriented themselves to the Italian opera seria: aria follows aria, with the story being told in recitatives in between. Haydn reworked the work again in 1784, but still he could not prevent "Il ritorno di Tobia" from disappearing from the repertoire in the 19th century. Only in the second half of the 20th century was this colourful masterpiece rediscovered, even in the large choral scenes.

Price: $49.98