Handel's Semele
Thomas Guthrie (stage director), John Eliot Gardiner (conductor) — With Louise Alder (Semele), Hugo Hymas (Jupiter), Lucile Richardot (Juno / Ino)
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Cast
Thomas Guthrie — Stage director
Rick Fisher — Lighting designer
Patricia Hofstede — Costumes
Louise Alder — Soprano (Semele)
Hugo Hymas — Tenor (Jupiter)
Lucile Richardot — Mezzo-soprano (Juno / Ino)
Carlo Vistoli — Countertenor (Athamas)
Gianluca Buratto — Bass (Cadmus / Somnus)
Emily Owen — Soprano (Iris)
Angela Hicks — Singer (Cupid)
Peter Davoren — Singer (Apollo)
Alison Ponsford-Hill — Singer (Endless Pleasure)
Angharad Rowlands — Singer (Endless Pleasure)
Daniel D'Souza — Singer (High Priest)
Robert Davies — Singer (High Priest)
Christopher Webb — Singer (High Priest)
Program notes
Handel’s masterpiece Semele, first performed in London in 1744, is not technically an opera per se, but rather an oratorio perfectly suited to the stage, thanks to William Congreve’s brilliantly dramatic libretto that finds its roots in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
The work is composed of numerous richly melodic, astonishingly expressive arias and choruses, including “Oh sleep, why dost thou leave me?”, “Where’er you walk”, or the exquisite “Endless pleasure, endless love”!
In this incredible production, recorded at London’s iconic Alexandra Palace and directed by Thomas Guthrie and his team, the world-renowned maestro John Eliot Gardiner conducts the Monteverdi Choir, the English Baroque Soloists and a fantastic cast of singers specializing in the repertoire, with the remarkable soprano Louise Alder in the title role.
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