Haydn: Il Mondo della Luna Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Haydn: Il Mondo della Luna Blu-ray Movie Review

Rocket to the moon with Joseph Haydn and Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 29, 2010

Joseph Haydn is often referred to as “the father of the symphony,” or even “the father of the string quartet,” but he is rarely if ever thought of as an opera composer. That’s more than a bit peculiar, as opera actually was a regular part of Haydn’s formidable oeuvre. Though few of the composer’s operatic pieces have made it into the standard repertoire, his facility with the genre demonstrates a wonderfully ebullient nature that is virtually Mozartian at times. That free wheeling approach is fully on display in his 1777 dramma giocoso Il Mondo della Luna, which was the first Haydn opera to be staged after musical theater became a regular season offering at the court of Esterhazy. Il Mondo della Luna is, to pun intentionally, a lunatic farce of comeuppance and starcrossed love, which is set in a rather odd, almost science fiction, world of supposed trips to the moon. Of course the moon is the orb of the emotions, and passion and its urges plays an important part in the love story angle of this piece. While purists are often upset at modern stagings of classical pieces, in this case the science fiction aspect plays perfectly into a decidedly 21st century reimagining by the Theater an der Wien, with some inventive stage direction by noted German actor Tobias Moretti. Interestingly, but strangely not at all disconcertingly, the period instrument troupe Concentus Musicus Wien plays marvelously under the inspired direction of Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

The etymology of buffa is obviously related to our English word buffoon, and there is probably no greater buffoon in 18th century opera than Il Mondo della Luna’s primary object of derision, the hard hearted father Buonafede (Dietrich Henschel). As the opera opens, Ecclitico (Bernard Richter), who has eyes for Buonafede’s daughter Clarice (Christina Landshamer), convinces his perhaps future father-in-law that he is an astronomer of some exceptional skill, supposedly showing the old curmudgeon scenes of life on the moon, which are in fact (in this version) closed circuit televised elements being broadcast from one of the levels of Renate Martin and Andreas Donhauser’s extremely inventive set design. Buonafede also has another daughter, Flaminia (Anja Nina Bahrmann), who is the object of amorous longing by Ernesto (Vivica Genaux). A third woman, Buonafede’s maid Lisetta (Maite Beaumont), is sought after both by Ernesto’s servant Cecco (Markus Schäfer) as well as by Buonafede himself. And so the pickings are ripe here for the typical farcical elements of mismatched lovers and a father who is not especially well disposed to give either of his daughter’s hands in marriage.

Where Il Mondo della Luna takes a decidedly innovative turn (especially when one considers its 18th century heritage), is in its supposed “trip to the moon,” which is of course purely a trompe d’oeil conceived of by Ecclitico after he drugs Buonafede and then converts a garden into a moonscape. Ecclitico’s moon conforms perfectly with Buonafede’s ideas of a subjugated womankind, and Ecclitico is of course able to weasel the elder man into releasing his daughters to marry whom they choose, before the illusion is dispelled and Buonafede, after a brief temper tantrum, comes to his senses and begins to act more reasonably.

This production is filled with considerable whimsy and invention, and for once a modern restaging works near perfectly with the source material. The incredibly ingenious set design and use of props provides nonstop delight throughout the opera’s three acts. The opening multi-level staging is really quite enticing, with lots of high tech gear filling the stage and helping the entire audience to understand Buonafede’s remarkable gullibility. When Clarice and Flaminia lament their lot as the daughters of an abhorrently controlling father, they do so from a jail like window on the second floor of their home. Suddenly, when we need to see into their abode, a wall flips down and becomes a cantilevered stage. Later, after Buonafede has been drugged and imagines he’s flying to the moon, he’s really lifted aloft as he slumps on a lawn chair. It’s all subtly anachronistic and hilarious at the same time.

Haydn was slowly exploring the potential of the operatic idiom in Il Mondo della Luna, and while his score may not have the towering arias of some of his contemporaries, his brilliant orchestral technique, including several balletic interludes, are remarkable and extremely colorful. This is music that dances as much as it sings, and under the redoubtable baton of Harnoncourt, whose period music explorations virtually invented the practice as far back as the early 1950s. Here he is working with a number of younger singers, but the entire cast acquits itself quite admirably, with Richter’s Ecclitico and Henschel’s Buonafede easy standouts.

What will probably delight most audiences though is the incredibly inventive staging of Tobias Moretti, a rare actor who seems to put the needs of his script above those of his ego. Here everything works in tandem wonderfully well to support the literally lunatic frenzy of Ecclitico’s valiant attempts to get Buonafede to understand the idiocy of his ways. This is farce as it should be, with just the right amount of over the top shtick playing hand in hand with more heartfelt elements. This piece may not exactly be one giant leap for operatic mankind, but it is a decidedly welcome small step for man in helping to raise awareness of the joys of Haydn’s operatic oeuvre.

Haydn: Il Mondo della Luna Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Il Mondo della Luna is a big, bold, bright and beautiful staging and for the most part this Blu-ray's AVC encoded 1080i transfer (in 1.78:1) supports it very well. Colors here are exceptional, with an extremely varied palette that gives us everything from the dark blue-infested opening scene to the bright, sunlit ambience of the garden sequence. The stage design here can be very busy, with lots of wires, lines and other geometries filling the screen, and there are no instances of artifacting with any of those. Unfortunately, occasionally we do get some minor artifacting on some of the closeknit costume designs. The image here is very sharp and well detailed, with great black levels and excellent contrast.

Haydn: Il Mondo della Luna Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While there are some very occasional and extremely transitory intonation issues from Concentus Musicus Wien, this Blu-ray's stunning DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is virtually perfect (there is also a lossless LPCM 2.0 option). Any period instrument aficionado knows how difficult brass instruments especially are to get pitch perfect, and every so often we have a slightly drooping note which is quickly pulled into tune. Other than that anomaly, this is a superb performance under the incredible direction of Harnoncourt, certainly one of the top five (and perhaps the top) conductors of period instrument ensembles. Winds especially sound brilliantly fluid and crisp here, and the strings aren't overly dry sounding. At times I wished the singers had been brought a bit more forward into the mix, but overall there is a very pleasant balance between the onstage personnel and those in the pit. There's not a huge amount of directionality here, but there is a very natural hall ambience which fills the surrounds very nicely. Fidelity is excellent, dynamic range, while somewhat muted due to the period instruments, is also supple and well realized, and the DTS track supports all frequencies effortlessly.

Haydn: Il Mondo della Luna Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

A very interesting Making Of featurette (HD; 24:20) is included, which offers some in-depth musings from Harnoncourt and others in the production. The insert booklet has a historical essay as well as a synopsis.

Haydn: Il Mondo della Luna Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Those of you who regularly read my opera reviews know I am not easily swayed by modern reinterpretations of classical operas. I'm happy to report this is a most welcome exception, with a glittering production design and very smart update to our current times. Il Mondo della Luna is often very funny indeed, and though it might seem odd, the period instruments of Concentus Musicus Wien sound perfectly at home in this ultra-modern world. If you've never experienced a Haydn opera, there's no better place to start than here. Highly recommended.