La Fedeltà Premiata Hob. XXVIII:10

“I assure you that a work such as this has not yet been heard” (Haydn to the publisher Artaria). In November 1779, the opera house at Schloss Eszterháza burned to the ground and was replaced by a splendid new one. For its opening, Haydn composed the dramma pastorale giocoso “La fedeltà premiata”. However, the building was not completed in time for the autumn 1780 season, so the premiere could not take place until 25 February 1781 – which did nothing to harm the extraordinary success of the work (36 further performances in Eszterháza alone!). Haydn himself was justly proud of the enchanting pastoral with its buffo-like complications of the three pairs of lovers, for which he struck an incomparably cheerful note, and he underlined the few serious themes in the story with delicate, dark colours. The new vocal score is based on Vol. XXV/10 of the Haydn Edition; an appendix contains all the variants to the authentic parts of Celia and Nerina.