List of operas by Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn is not primarily remembered as a composer of opera, yet the genre occupied a great deal of his time. During the 1770s and 1780s, Haydn ran an opera troupe on behalf of his employer, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, which put on up to 150 performances per year. A number of the operas were Haydn's own work. Haydn's operas are only occasionally performed today.

The list is arranged chronologically and divided by career stage.

Composed as a freelance musician

• 1752: Der krumme Teufel, Hob. 29/1a, Singspiel (libretto by Joseph von Kurz), composed during Haydn's time as a freelance musician. Now lost.

Composed during Haydn's service for the Eszterházy family

Date	Title	Hob.	Genre	Sub­divisions	Libretto
1762 revised 1773/1774	Acide e Galatea	28.0128/1	festa teatrale	1 act	MigliavaccaG A Migliavacca
1766	canterinaLa canterina (The Songstress)	28.0228/2	intermezzo in musica	2 acts
1763?	marchesaLa marchesa nespola	30.130/1	comedia
1768	Lo speziale (The Apothecary)	28.0328/3	dramma giocoso	3 acts	GoldoniCarlo Goldoni, revised by Carl Friberth?
1769	pescatriciLe pescatrici (The Fishwives)	28.0428/4	dramma giocoso	3 acts	GoldoniCarlo Goldoni, revised by Carl Friberth?
1773	infedeltaL'infedeltà delusa (Deceit Outwitted)	28.0528/5	burletta per musica	2 acts	ColtelliniMarco Coltellini, revised by Carl Friberth?
1773	Philemon und Baucis	29.229b/2	Singspiel	1 act	PfeffeGottlieb Konrad Pfeffel
1775	incontroL'incontro improvviso (The Unexpected Encounter)	28.0628/6	dramma giocoso	3 acts	FriberthCarl Friberth, after L H Dancourt's La rencontre imprévue
1777	mondoIl mondo della luna (The World on the Moon)	28.0728/7	dramma giocoso	3 acts	GoldoniCarlo Goldoni
1779	veraLa vera costanza (True Constancy), revised 1785	28.0828/8	dramma giocoso	3 acts	PuttiniFrancesco Puttini
1779	isolaL'isola disabitata (The Deserted Island)	28.0928/9	azione teatrale	2 parts	Metastasio
1780	fedeltaLa fedeltà premiata (Fidelity Rewarded)	28.1028/10	dramma giocoso	3 acts	Lorenziafter Giambattista's Lorenzi's L'infedeltà fedele
1782	Orlando paladino (The Paladin Orlando)	28.1128/11	dramma eroicomico	3 acts	PortaNunziato Porta, based on Carlo Francesco Badini's Le pazzie d'Orlando, after Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso
1783	Armida	28.1228/12	dramma eroico	3 acts	Tassoafter Torquato Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata

Composed for the first London journey

• 1791: L'anima del filosofo, ossia Orfeo ed Euridice, Hob. 28/13, dramma per musica in 4 acts (libretto by Carlo Francesco Badini). Haydn's own version of the Orpheus tale, the plot of a great many operas. Haydn's only post-Esterházy opera, composed for his 1791 trip to London but never performed there, due to intrigues.

References

Sources

• The dates given above are from the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, as compiled by Georg Feder.
• Branscombe, Peter (1992), 'Haydn, Joseph' in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7