Semele (oratorio)
Encyclopedia
Semele is a 1743 opera (initially presented as an oratorio) in three acts by George Frideric Handel
. It is based on the classical myth of Semele
, mother of Dionysus
.
s at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, were George Frideric Handel
’s chief concert activity in London. Several of them — Israel in Egypt (written 1738), Messiah
(1741) and Samson
(1743), for instance — bore some semblance to Greek tragedy, and this led Handel to venture into the world of classical drama.
He took up William Congreve
's libretto for the 1707 John Eccles opera Semele, writing the music in a month, from June 3 to July 4, 1743. The work naturally took shape as an opera
, but Handel eyed a place for it on the Theatre Royal's oratorio-centered Lent
en concert series the following February (1744), knowing that this would secure the work's first performance and enable him to get paid. So he fashioned Semele for presentation "in the manner of an oratorio" — a wolf in sheep's clothing.
His ploy did not delight the organizers of the series, resulting in few performances, and it created a spurious and long-lasting identity for Semele as a concert piece, one championed and "claimed" even today by choral groups. That the work is more an opera than an oratorio is implicit in playwright Congreve's libretto, amplified by Alexander Pope
, and in the score. As the late Lord Harewood put it:
, transparently drew on Greek myths, not Hebrew laws, and so it displeased those attending for a different kind of uplift. Being in English, Semele likewise irritated the supporters of true Italian opera. Winton Dean in his book Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios:
As a result, only four performances took place. The cast at the première included Elisabeth Duparc (‘La Francesina’) in the title role, Esther Young as Juno (and Ino), and John Beard
as Jupiter. Henry Reinhold
sang the bass roles. Handel seems to have interchanged some of the music between singers.
Later, in December 1744, Handel rustled up two further performances, this time at the King's Theatre, after pandering to his critics with changes and additions that included interspersed arias in Italian (for the opera crowd) and the excision of sexually explicit lines (for the devoted).
Semele was staged on four occasions (1959, 1961, 1964 and 1975) by the Handel Opera Society under Charles Farncombe, and it entered the repertory of the English National Opera
(then Sadler’s Wells Opera) in 1970. The opera returned in 1982 — after a 238-year hiatus — to Covent Garden (the Royal Opera House
), conducted, as at Sadler’s Wells, by Charles Mackerras
.
The American stage première took place at the Ravinia Festival near Chicago in 1959. Semele was performed in Washington, DC, in 1980, and at Carnegie Hall
, New York, in 1985, on the latter occasion with Kathleen Battle
in the title role and John Nelson
conducting. (A recording with a similar cast was made in 1990 and issued on the Deutsche Grammophon label.)
and conducted by Marc Minkowski
opened at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
in Paris. (This was revived in 2010 by conductor Christophe Rousset
.)
A new production opened at New York City Opera
on September 13, 2006. Directed by Stephen Lawless, it made metaphorical references to Marilyn Monroe
, U.S. presidents John F. Kennedy
and Bill Clinton, and Jacqueline Kennedy. Elizabeth Futral
sang Semele, Vivica Genaux
portrayed Juno (and Ino), and Robert Breault sang Jupiter.
Zurich Opera
in Switzerland mounted Semele in 2007 as a vehicle for Cecilia Bartoli
, with Birgit Remmert and Charles Workman
as Juno and Jupiter and William Christie conducting. This staging was taped, issued as a Decca DVD, and successfully transferred (in 2010) to Vienna's Theater an der Wien
.
Milwaukee's Florentine Opera
company in 2009 staged a recreation of director John La Bouchardiere
's earlier Scottish Opera production, conducted by Jane Glover
at the Pabst Theater
; it starred Jennifer Aylmer
, Robert Breault, and Sandra Piques Eddy.
In September of the same year a new staging by the Chinese artist Zhang Huan
, conducted by Rousset, with Les Talens Lyriques
, opened at La Monnaie
in Brussels
. This moved, on 24 October 2010, to Beijing
's Poly Theater as part of the Beijing Music Festival — the first major production of a baroque opera in the People's Republic of China
.
, Leipzig 1860)
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
. It is based on the classical myth of Semele
Semele
Semele , in Greek mythology, daughter of the Boeotian hero Cadmus and Harmonia, was the mortal mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths. In another version of his mythic origin, he is the son of Persephone...
, mother of Dionysus
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
.
Background
In the early 1740s, oratorioOratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
s at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, were George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
’s chief concert activity in London. Several of them — Israel in Egypt (written 1738), Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
(1741) and Samson
Samson
Samson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....
(1743), for instance — bore some semblance to Greek tragedy, and this led Handel to venture into the world of classical drama.
He took up William Congreve
William Congreve
William Congreve was an English playwright and poet.-Early life:Congreve was born in Bardsey, West Yorkshire, England . His parents were William Congreve and his wife, Mary ; a sister was buried in London in 1672...
's libretto for the 1707 John Eccles opera Semele, writing the music in a month, from June 3 to July 4, 1743. The work naturally took shape as an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, but Handel eyed a place for it on the Theatre Royal's oratorio-centered Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
en concert series the following February (1744), knowing that this would secure the work's first performance and enable him to get paid. So he fashioned Semele for presentation "in the manner of an oratorio" — a wolf in sheep's clothing.
His ploy did not delight the organizers of the series, resulting in few performances, and it created a spurious and long-lasting identity for Semele as a concert piece, one championed and "claimed" even today by choral groups. That the work is more an opera than an oratorio is implicit in playwright Congreve's libretto, amplified by Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
, and in the score. As the late Lord Harewood put it:
- " ... the music of Semele is so full of variety, the recitative so expressive, the orchestration so inventive, the characterization so apt, the general level of inventionLevel of InventionLevel of invention is a relative degree of changes to the previous system in the result of solution of inventive problem . Term was defined and introduced by TRIZ author G. S...
so high, the action so full of credible situation and incident — in a word, the piece as a whole is so suited to the operatic stage — that one can only suppose its neglect to have been due to an act of abnegation on the part of opera companies."
Performances
Semele was first performed on 10 February 1744 at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, London, as part of a concert series held yearly during Lent. The audience naturally expected Bible-based subject matter; most oratorios, including most of Handel's, meet this expectation. But the amorous topic of Semele, which is practically a creation of the late Restoration PeriodEnglish Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
, transparently drew on Greek myths, not Hebrew laws, and so it displeased those attending for a different kind of uplift. Being in English, Semele likewise irritated the supporters of true Italian opera. Winton Dean in his book Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios:
- "The public [in 1744] found [Semele's] tone too close to that of the discredited Italian opera and set it down as an oratorio manqué; where they expected wholesome Lenten bread, they received a glittering stone dug from the ruins of Greek mythologyGreek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
."
As a result, only four performances took place. The cast at the première included Elisabeth Duparc (‘La Francesina’) in the title role, Esther Young as Juno (and Ino), and John Beard
John Beard (tenor)
John Beard was an English tenor of the 18th century. He is best remembered for creating an extensive number of roles in the operas and oratorios of George Frideric Handel....
as Jupiter. Henry Reinhold
Henry Reinhold
Henry Reinhold was a singer, reputed to be the son of the archbishop of Dresden.He was born in Dresden and showed an early aptitude for music, which his family apparently discouraged. But he secretly left Dresden to follow Handel, a friend of his reputed father, to London...
sang the bass roles. Handel seems to have interchanged some of the music between singers.
Later, in December 1744, Handel rustled up two further performances, this time at the King's Theatre, after pandering to his critics with changes and additions that included interspersed arias in Italian (for the opera crowd) and the excision of sexually explicit lines (for the devoted).
20th Century
Perhaps unsurely matched to the spirit of its time, Semele then fell into prolonged neglect until its first stage performances — in Cambridge, England, in 1925 and in London in 1954. These fueled an enthusiasm that has not since lapsed.Semele was staged on four occasions (1959, 1961, 1964 and 1975) by the Handel Opera Society under Charles Farncombe, and it entered the repertory of the English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
(then Sadler’s Wells Opera) in 1970. The opera returned in 1982 — after a 238-year hiatus — to Covent Garden (the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
), conducted, as at Sadler’s Wells, by Charles Mackerras
Charles Mackerras
Sir Alan Charles Maclaurin Mackerras, AC, CH, CBE was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan...
.
The American stage première took place at the Ravinia Festival near Chicago in 1959. Semele was performed in Washington, DC, in 1980, and at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, New York, in 1985, on the latter occasion with Kathleen Battle
Kathleen Battle
Kathleen Battle , is an African-American operatic soprano known for her agile and light voice and her silvery, pure tone. Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances with major orchestras during the early and mid 1970s. She made her opera debut in...
in the title role and John Nelson
John Nelson (conductor)
John Wilton Nelson is an American conductor. Nelson studied at Wheaton College, and later at the Juilliard School of Music with Jean Morel ....
conducting. (A recording with a similar cast was made in 1990 and issued on the Deutsche Grammophon label.)
21st Century
In 2004 a staged production directed by David McVicarDavid McVicar
David McVicar is a Scottish opera and theatre director. He attended Netherlee Primary School and then Williamwood High School. He studied as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, graduating in 1989...
and conducted by Marc Minkowski
Marc Minkowski
Marc Minkowski is a French conductor of classical music, especially known for his interpretations of French Baroque works. His mother is American, and his father was Alexandre Minkowski, a Polish-French professor of pediatrics and one of the founders of neonatology...
opened at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a theatre at 15 avenue Montaigne. Despite its name, the theatre is not on the Champs-Élysées but nearby in another part of the 8th arrondissement of Paris....
in Paris. (This was revived in 2010 by conductor Christophe Rousset
Christophe Rousset
Christophe Rousset is a French harpsichordist and conductor, specializing in the performance of baroque music on period instruments.-Biography:...
.)
A new production opened at New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
on September 13, 2006. Directed by Stephen Lawless, it made metaphorical references to Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, U.S. presidents John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Bill Clinton, and Jacqueline Kennedy. Elizabeth Futral
Elizabeth Futral
Elizabeth Futral is an American coloratura soprano who has won acclaim throughout the United States as well as in Europe, South America, and Japan....
sang Semele, Vivica Genaux
Vivica Genaux
Vivica Genaux is an American coloratura mezzo-soprano. Her father, an American of Belgian-Welsh descent, was a biochemistry professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and her mother, Mexican-born of Swiss-German extraction, was a language teacher...
portrayed Juno (and Ino), and Robert Breault sang Jupiter.
Zurich Opera
Zurich Opera
Oper Zürich is an opera company based in Zurich, Switzerland. The company gives performances in the Opernhaus Zürich which has been the company’s home for fifty years.-History:...
in Switzerland mounted Semele in 2007 as a vehicle for Cecilia Bartoli
Cecilia Bartoli
Cecilia Bartoli is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best-known for her interpretation of the music of Mozart and Rossini, as well as for her performances of lesser-known Baroque and classical music...
, with Birgit Remmert and Charles Workman
Charles Workman
Charles Workman may refer to:*Charles H. Workman, English singer and actor*Charles Workman, hitman who killed Dutch Schultz...
as Juno and Jupiter and William Christie conducting. This staging was taped, issued as a Decca DVD, and successfully transferred (in 2010) to Vienna's Theater an der Wien
Theater an der Wien
The Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district of Vienna. Completed in 1801, it has seen the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music...
.
Milwaukee's Florentine Opera
Florentine Opera
The Florentine Opera Company is Wisconsin's oldest fully professional performing arts organization and the sixth-oldest opera company in the United States. The company presents on three staged productions per season largely from the standard operatic repertoire...
company in 2009 staged a recreation of director John La Bouchardiere
John La Bouchardière
John La Bouchardière BMus MA is a British opera, film and television director.He was a chorister at Magdalen College, Oxford, studied at the University of Birmingham and was a staff director at English National Opera...
's earlier Scottish Opera production, conducted by Jane Glover
Jane Glover
Jane Glover CBE is a British-born conductor and music scholar.-Early life:Glover attended Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls. Her father, Robert Finlay Glover MA TD,was headmaster of Monmouth School and it was through this connection that she was able to meet Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears...
at the Pabst Theater
Pabst Theater
The Pabst Theater is an indoor concert venue and landmark of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. Colloquially known as "the Pabst", the theater hosts about 100 events per year...
; it starred Jennifer Aylmer
Jennifer Aylmer
Jennifer Aylmer is an American operatic soprano noted for significant performances with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, and as an oratorio soloist with major ensembles such as the National Symphony, and the Oratorio Society of New York....
, Robert Breault, and Sandra Piques Eddy.
In September of the same year a new staging by the Chinese artist Zhang Huan
Zhang Huan
Zhang Huan is a Chinese artist based in Shanghai and New York. He made his BA at the He Nan University in Kai Feng and his MA at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing...
, conducted by Rousset, with Les Talens Lyriques
Les Talens Lyriques
Les Talens Lyriques is a baroque orchestra founded in 1991 by French conductor Christophe Rousset.The ensemble takes its name from Jean-Philippe Rameau's opéra-ballet Les fêtes d'Hébé ou les talens lyriques .- External links :...
, opened at La Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. This moved, on 24 October 2010, to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
's Poly Theater as part of the Beijing Music Festival — the first major production of a baroque opera in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 10 February 1744 (Conductor: Georg Friedrich Handel) |
|---|---|---|
| Jupiter | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
John Beard John Beard (tenor) John Beard was an English tenor of the 18th century. He is best remembered for creating an extensive number of roles in the operas and oratorios of George Frideric Handel.... |
| Cadmus, King of Thebes | bass | Henry Reinhold Henry Reinhold Henry Reinhold was a singer, reputed to be the son of the archbishop of Dresden.He was born in Dresden and showed an early aptitude for music, which his family apparently discouraged. But he secretly left Dresden to follow Handel, a friend of his reputed father, to London... |
| Semele, daughter to Cadmus, belov'd by and in love with Jupiter |
soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Elisabeth Duparc Elisabeth Duparc Elisabeth Duparc or Du Parc, nicknamed "La Francesina", was a French soprano notable for appearing in several premieres and performances of the oratorios and operas of Handel - she played the title role, for example, in the premiere of Semele.After training in Italy she sang in Florence then... ("La Francesina") |
| Athamas, a prince of Bœotia, in love with, and design'd to marry Semele |
alto Alto Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,... |
Daniel Sullivan |
| Ino, sister to Semele, in love with Athamas | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Esther Young Esther Young Esther Young was an English operatic contralto and the wife of music publisher Charles Jones... |
| Somnus | bass | Henry Reinhold |
| Apollo | tenor | John Beard |
| Juno | mezzo-soprano | Esther Young |
| Iris | soprano | Christina Maria Avoglio Christina Maria Avoglio Christina Maria Avoglio or Avolia was an Italian soprano in Handel's opera company. She arrived in London by 1740 and appeared in both the Dublin and London premieres of Messiah in 1741 and 1743 respectively... |
| High priest | bass | Henry Reinhold |
| Chorus of priests, augurs, loves, zephyrs, nymphs, swains and attendants | ||
Arias
- "Hymen, haste, thy torch prepare!" (Act 1, Athamas)
- "Oh Jove, in pity teach me which to choose" (Act 1, Semele)
- "The morning lark to mine accords his note" (Act 1, Semele)
- "Hence, hence, Iris hence away!" (Act 2, Juno)
- "Endless pleasure, endless love" (Act 1, Semele)
- "Oh sleep, why dost thou leave me?" (Act 2, Semele)
- "I must with speed amuse her" (Act2, Jupiter)
- "Where'er you walk" (Act 2, Jupiter)
- "Leave me, loathsome light" (Act 3, Somnus)
- "More sweet is that name" (Act 3, Somnus)
- "Myself I shall adore" (Act 3, Semele)
- "I am ever granting, you always complain" (Act 3, Semele)
- "No, no, I’ll take no less" (Act 3, Semele)
- "Above measure is the pleasure" (Act 3, Juno)
- "Despair no more shall wound me" (Act 3, Athamas)
Recordings
- Johannes Somary, conducting the English Chamber OrchestraEnglish Chamber OrchestraThe English Chamber Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and the ECO Ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall...
, with Sheila ArmstrongSheila Armstrong (singer)Dr. Sheila Armstrong is an English soprano, equally noted for opera, oratorio, symphonic music and lieder.Educated at the Royal Academy of Music, she was co-winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award in 1965, and as of 2011 was a trustee of the award fund.She was active in English opera and oratorio...
as Semele, Helen WattsHelen WattsHelen Watts CBE was a Welsh contralto. She was born at Wales in Milford Haven and educated at the School of S. Mary and S. Anne, Abbots Bromley and the Royal Academy of Music. She began her career with the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, and was a regular broadcaster on the Welsh Home Service...
as Juno, and Robert TearRobert TearRobert Tear, CBE was a Welsh tenor and conductor.Tear was born in Barry, Glamorgan, Wales, UK, the son of Thomas and Edith Tear. He attended Barry Boys' Grammar School and during this period sang in the chorus of the first Welsh National Opera's production of 'Cavalleria Rusticana' in April 1946...
as Jupiter. Smaller roles are sung by Felicity PalmerFelicity PalmerDame Felicity Joan Palmer, DBE , is an English mezzo-soprano and music professor. She sang soprano roles until 1983....
, Mark DellerMark DellerMark Deller is a countertenor, the son of the first modern countertenor, Alfred Deller. Mark Deller has been a member of the choirs of St John's College, Cambridge, and St Paul's Cathedral. Since 1962 he has been a member of the Deller Consort...
, and Justino DíazJustino DíazJustino Díaz is an internationally renowned bass-baritone opera singer. In 1963, Díaz won an annual contest held at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, becoming the "first" Puerto Rican to obtain such an honor and as a consequence, made his Metropolitan debut on October 1963 in Verdi's Rigoletto...
. Vanguard Classics, 1973. - John Eliot GardinerJohn Eliot GardinerSir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
, conducting the English Baroque SoloistsEnglish Baroque SoloistsThe English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on period instruments, formed in 1978 by English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early Baroque period to the Classical period...
and the Monteverdi ChoirMonteverdi ChoirThe Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the Monteverdi Vespers in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic conviction and extensive repertoire, encompassing music from the early...
, with Norma BurrowesNorma BurrowesNorma Burrowes is an Irish coloratura soprano, particularly associated with Handel and Mozart roles.-Life and career:...
as Semele, Della JonesDella JonesDella Jones , is a Welsh mezzo-soprano, particularly well-known for her interpretations of works by Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, and Britten.-Life and career:Della Jones was born in Tonna, near Neath, Wales...
as Juno, and Anthony Rolfe JohnsonAnthony Rolfe JohnsonAnthony Rolfe Johnson, CBE was an English operatic tenor.-Life and career:Born in Tackley in Oxfordshire, Rolfe Johnson studied with Ellis Keeler and Vera Rosza at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He first appeared in opera in the chorus and in small roles at the Glyndebourne Festival...
as Jupiter. Erato Disques, 1983. - John NelsonJohn Nelson (conductor)John Wilton Nelson is an American conductor. Nelson studied at Wheaton College, and later at the Juilliard School of Music with Jean Morel ....
, conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke'sOrchestra of St. Luke'sThe Orchestra of St. Luke's is an American chamber orchestra based in New York City.It was founded in the summer of 1979 at the Caramoor International Music Festival in Katonah, New York....
, live in 1985 at Carnegie Hall, New York, with Kathleen BattleKathleen BattleKathleen Battle , is an African-American operatic soprano known for her agile and light voice and her silvery, pure tone. Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances with major orchestras during the early and mid 1970s. She made her opera debut in...
, Marilyn HorneMarilyn HorneMarilyn Horne is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages....
, Rockwell BlakeRockwell BlakeRockwell Blake is an American operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in Rossini operas. He was the first winner of the Richard Tucker Award.-Biography:...
, Jeffrey Gall. Legendary Recordings. Poor sound, but some reviewers have found it more exciting than the studio recording. - John NelsonJohn Nelson (conductor)John Wilton Nelson is an American conductor. Nelson studied at Wheaton College, and later at the Juilliard School of Music with Jean Morel ....
, conducting the English Chamber OrchestraEnglish Chamber OrchestraThe English Chamber Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and the ECO Ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall...
, with the soprano Kathleen BattleKathleen BattleKathleen Battle , is an African-American operatic soprano known for her agile and light voice and her silvery, pure tone. Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances with major orchestras during the early and mid 1970s. She made her opera debut in...
as Semele, the mezzo-soprano Marilyn HorneMarilyn HorneMarilyn Horne is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages....
as both Ino and the goddess JunoJuno (mythology)Juno is an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Mars and Vulcan. Juno also looked after the women of Rome. Her Greek equivalent is Hera...
, and the tenor John Aler as the god JupiterJupiter (mythology)In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
. The smaller roles included the soprano Sylvia McNairSylvia McNairSylvia McNair is an American opera singer and classical recitalist who has also achieved notable success in the Broadway and cabaret genres. McNair, a soprano, has made several critically acclaimed recordings and has won two Grammy Awards....
as Iris, the countertenor Michael ChanceMichael ChanceMichael Chance CBE is an English countertenor.Chance was born in Penn, Buckinghamshire, into a musical family. After growing up as a chorister he attended Eton College, Berkshire, and later King's College, Cambridge...
as Athamas, the bass Samuel RameySamuel RameySamuel Edward Ramey is an American operatic bass with a long, distinguished career.During his best years, he was greatly admired for his range and versatility, having possessed a sufficiently accomplished bel canto technique to enable him to sing the music of Handel, Mozart, Rossini, yet power...
as the god of sleep Somnus, and bass-baritoneBass-baritoneA bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende...
Mark S. DossMark S. DossMark Steven Doss is a Grammy Award-winning African-American bass-baritone, specializing in opera, concert and recital...
as the High Priest. Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
435 7822 6, recorded in London in 1990 and released in 1993. (This is the reference recording, according to ClassicsToday.)http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=7488 - Anthony Walker, conducting the Sirius Ensemble, with the Cantillation chorus and the soprano Anna Ryberg as Semele, mezzo-sprano Sally-Anne Russell as both Juno and Ino, and tenor Angus Wood as Jupiter. Smaller roles are sung by sopranos Belinda Montgomery and Shelli Gilhome, countertenor Tobias Cole, and bass Stephen Bennett. Taped live in Sydney, Australia in December, 2002. ABC Classics 980047-0.
- Decca DVD 0743323 is available of the Operhaus Zurich 2007 production starring Cecilia Bartoli as Semele, Charles Workman as Jupiter, Birgit Remmert as Juno. 154 mins. DTS 5.0 and LPCM stereo.
E-book
Score of Semele (ed. Friedrich ChrysanderFriedrich Chrysander
Karl Franz Friedrich Chrysander was a German music historian and critic, whose edition of the works of George Frideric Handel and authoritative writings on many other composers established him as a pioneer of 19th-century musicology.Born at Lübtheen, in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Chrysander was the son...
, Leipzig 1860)
External links
- Congreve's libretto for Semele hosted by the University of OregonUniversity of Oregon-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
.? - Congreve's libretto for Semele hosted by Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. - A rare Semele by Handel, review by Donal Henahan in The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, February 25, 1985