Joseph Haydn: Il Ritorno di Tobia (2020)

Haydn's Il Ritorno di Tobia, Hob. 21:1, of 1775, was the composer's first oratorio. With a story based on the biblical Book of Tobit, it ought to have been compelling indeed. The book is one of the Bible's most action-packed, featuring the titular character's blinding after he sleeps outdoors and is hit in the eyes by bird droppings, a demon who kills every new husband a young woman marries before the marriage can be consummated, and fish gall as a blindness cure, among other compelling plot points. Unfortunately, the ... Read More

Haydn's Il Ritorno di Tobia, Hob. 21:1, of 1775, was the composer's first oratorio. With a story based on the biblical Book of Tobit, it ought to have been compelling indeed. The book is one of the Bible's most action-packed, featuring the titular character's blinding after he sleeps outdoors and is hit in the eyes by bird droppings, a demon who kills every new husband a young woman marries before the marriage can be consummated, and fish gall as a blindness cure, among other compelling plot points. Unfortunately, the libretto, by the brother of the composer Luigi Boccherini, hampers the oratorio badly, falling into a dull sequence in which lengthy arias fail to advance the action and the chorus has little to do. Haydn realized the problems and added a pair of choruses in a 1784 revision, which are included here. All this said, if one takes the work on its own terms rather than expecting The Creation or The Seasons, it's quite enjoyable, with expansive Mozartian arias that sound largely unlike other... Read Less

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2020, Sony Classical UPC: 190759810828 CD See All