Haydneum Opening Festival

An opera set in a Spanish environment, a beautiful and fiery young Gypsy girl in the title role: what else can come to mind than Bizet’s Carmen? The fact is, though, that Carl Maria von Weber also composed a singspiel on just such a theme in 1821: Preciosa, which still rates as a rarity to this day. The overture of this work serves as the introduction to the concert.  Sobriquets used for Haydn symphonies (not, it should be noted, given by the author) are mostly associated with a melody section, a characteristic rhythm or effect. However, the Symphony in D major No. 96 completed in 1791 apparently received the name ‘Miracle’ because at its debut a chandelier dropped from the ceiling but, miraculously, nobody was injured. The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra were founded in 1987, and their repertoire includes not only Baroque composers but Beethoven, Schubert and Weber, indeed even works by contemporary composers.