Haydn's "Le Pescatrici" and the aria "So far semplicetta"

Haydn

Franz Josef Haydn's Le Pescatrici and "So far semplicetta"

The Composer

Franz Josef Haydn was born to rather poor but very devout parents, and without this fact he might not have become one of the most influential composers of all time. The accident of birth had him arriving just in time to help shape the forms of classical music much as they are still known today -- the opera, the sonata, and the symphony all somewhat solidified as types of work during Haydn's era, and he played a major part in this (Classical Net 2009). Had his parents not placed him in the St. Stephen's Cathedral choir, however, none of this would have been possible -- it was at the choir school that Haydn received both his musical training and the only formal education he would ever receive during his lifetime (Sadie 1996). His instructors noticed his talents and encouraged him to pursue composition and instruction, both of which he did quite well (Sadie 1996).

In 1761, a year before he turned thirty, Haydn was made the Kapellmeister -- the chief musician -- for one of the Hungarian princes, Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy. This relationship would last for much of Haydn's life and all of the Prince's, and in fact Haydn enjoyed the patronage of the Esterhazy family until his own death in 1809 (Classical Net 2009). But though Haydn's originality and popularity only grew as he aged, it was during the thirty years he spent employed by Prince Nikolaus that laid the foundation for much of his work. The first performance Haydn's first foray into true opera, for instance, occurred on the occasion of the construction of a new opera house at Esterhaza, the royal palace and grounds and primary home of the Esterhazy family, where Haydn spent much of his life composing and conducting (Green 1997).

The Aria

In Act 1 of Le Pescatrici, one of the most famous arias is "So far semplicetta." This piece is sung by Nerina, one of the two fisherwomen who wants to prove that they are the "true" princesses. Flighty and flirty, Nerina is at once morally repulsive and enormously fun to watch (as so often seems to be the case with characters in popular entertainment), and this aria is no exception. She manages to flounce, pout, and prance her way through this song, describing the way she will use a false simplicity in order to woo the man and the life she desires (Seymour 2009). Though as one critic fairly aptly said of Haydn's work in general and this opera in particular, "there are enticing moments, but the listener's pulse never quickens," this aria has more than its share of enticement (Kennedy 1997).

The melody of this aria, however, is confessedly an exemplar of the type of enticing yet rather mundane quality of some of Haydn's work that Kennedy was peaking of. It is a very beautiful piece, and it flows quite well, but there is no real moment of surprising musical innovation on Haydn's part. Instead, the song slowly build to a climax that is noticeable only because of the way it is set off from the rest of the music -- pauses before and after a series of high notes (delivered with varying degrees of success by different singers) that Nerina sings at a crowd of listeners at the beach. She definitely does appear to be singing at rather than to them; this in keeping both with her character in general and with the substance of the aria she is singing, which places her in a class all her own.

This is perhaps the source of the greatest displeasure regarding this aria. The words themselves are witty and exciting, to a degree, and Nerina's thinking of herself as both witty and exciting is made demonstrably clear. The melody, however, does not bear either the wit or the excitement out, but rather seems to water down the substance of the aria with the predictability and straightforwardness of the melody. Again, it is not that the music is not beautiful -- in fact, possibly the opposite is true. The melody of this opera is so composed that it leaves no room for the character to show through in the notes. Still, it is -- to again use Kennedy's phrase -- an enticing song, and when well performed is a quite serviceable and even enjoyable opera. The actor in the role must share a great deal with the audience phsyically, however, as there simply isn't a way to show the full range of hilarity and raunchiness of Nerina's character through the music of this aria.

Conclusion

Franz Josef Haydn is better known for his symphonies and other orchestral works than for his operas, and possibly with good reason. As one of the progenitors of the modern conception of the operas, however, his work will always have a place in the operatic canon. Though his work might not be as soul-stirring or pulse-quickening as other operatic composers (such as Mozart, whom Haydn freely admitted was his better on this score), Haydn was quite original for his time, and dedicated to a perfection in his music that is certainly enjoyable today.