L'Isola disabitata by Joseph Haydn is now being performed at Amphithéâtre Olivier Messiaen. Performances run through 21 March.
In an 18th century fascinated by the question of the relationship between nature and culture, the theme of the desert island proved particularly fertile. Adopting a libretto by Metastasio, Joseph Haydn interweaves another subject dear to the Enlightenment: the war of the sexes.
Costanza, stranded for thirteen years on a desert island with her younger sister Silvia, and believing that her husband has abandoned her, has developed a loathing for men that she passes on to her younger sister. In reality, the husband in question was kidnapped by pirates when they were shipwrecked. Fortunately, misunderstandings and misconceptions eventually give way to a joyous quartet of rejoicings.
Premiered in 1779 at the Palais Esterházy, this immensely expressive “azione teatrale”, in which accompanied recitatives merge with arias and ensembles, is performed by the artists in residence at the Academy in a new staging by Simon Valastro.
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