Frau Haydn in Trouble ~ Opera Première

A fictional comic opera loosely based on historical anecdotes from the life of Mrs. Haydn and her famous husband Franz Joseph Haydn, set against the backdrop of the classist society of Imperial Vienna. The structure of the title carries a reference to highbrow works such as Euripides' Iphigenia in Aulis and the like. It also carries a reference to Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti. References or not, by centering on the much-maligned Frau Haydn, in a humorous vein, the opera brings to the fore the indignities and horror stories that made up the lives of the members of the lower classes- court musicians included, while poking fun at society, and especially the so-called "nobility". The opera will take a kindhearted look at the central character, a woman ahead of her times, full of contradictions, striving to make her mark amid an oppressive society. Frau Haydn tries her best but cannot seem to get a break. Her timing is off; her ideas are too wild for the times. Always a day late and a dollar short, Frau Haydn makes the right move at the wrong time, ending up in utter frustration- totally misunderstood. But despite all her foibles, we empathize with her. She ends up being a likable antihero, because in a way she reminds us of our own shortcomings.