Jupiter's Journey on the Earth

Opera and Symphony in Concert

This fiery program is concerned with giants – the great “Jupiter” Symphony of Mozart and the lesser-known giant of Haydn’s “Philemon und Baucis”. This unusual program, with Haydn’s opera appearing second, will most certainly prove that papa Haydn’s reputation as “the father of the symphony” needs immediate revision. For example, between 1762 and 1791, Haydn actually composed more operas than Mozart and conducted over one hundred operas of his contemporaries.

Haydn’s work is based on Ovid’s narrative, where Jupiter and Merkur transcend down from Mount Olympia to see what is rightfully theirs on earth. They chance on Philemon and Baucis, a poor, old married couple that are the only people that welcome in Jupiter and Merkur to their home. Not knowing that lightning from Jupiter killed their son, Aret, as “divine” reward for the hospitality shown by the impoverished couple, Jupiter revives Aret back to life.

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