Teseo
- For the missile, see Teseo.
Teseo (or 'Theseus'), HWV 9, is an opera seria with music by George Frideric Handel, the only Handel opera that is in five acts.[1] The Italian-language libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Philippe Quinault's Thésée. It was Handel's third London opera, intended to follow the success of Rinaldo after the unpopular Il pastor fido.
The opera was premiered at the Queen's Theatre in London on 10 January 1713. It received an additional 12 performances through 16 May 1713.[2] The singers included the castratos Valeriano Pellegrini and Valentino Urbani. Between 1713 and 1984, there were only two revivals[3], the first being the revival under Fritz Lehmann in Göttingen on 29 June 1947. In 1985, the tercentenary of Handel's birth, the opera received three revivals.[3] English Touring Opera produced Teseo in October and November 2007.[4]
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 10 January 1713 (Conductor: George Frideric Handel ) |
|---|---|---|
| Teseo (Theseus) | soprano castrato | Valeriano Pellegrini |
| King Egeo (Aegeus) | alto castrato | Valentino Urbani |
| Princess Agilea | soprano | Francesca Margherita de L'Epine |
| Clitia | soprano | Maria Gallia-Saggione |
| Arcano | alto | Jane Barbier |
| Medea | soprano | Elisabetta Pilotti-Schiavonetti |
| Priest of the goddess Minerva | bass | Richard Leveridge |
Selected recordings
- Erato 2292 45806-2: Eirain James, Della Jones, Julia Gooding, Derek Lee Ragin, Catherine Napoli, Jeffrey Gall; Les Musiciens du Louvre; Marc Minkowski, conductor[5]
E-book
- Score of Teseo (ed. Friedrich Chrysander, Leipzig 1874)
References
- ^ Price, Curtis, "Teseo in Boston and London" (February 1986). Early Music, 14 (1): pp. 149, 151.
- ^ Kimbell, David, "The Libretto of Handel's Teseo" (October 1963). Music & Letters, 44 (4): pp. 371-379.
- ^ a b Dean, Winton, "Music in London: Opera - Teseo" (October 1985). The Musical Times, 126 (1712): pp. 611-612.\
- ^ Erica Jeal (16 October 2007). "Teseo (Hackney Empire, London)". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Burrows, Donald, Review of recording of Teseo (August 1993). Early Music, 21 (3): pp. 505-506.
Sources
- Amadeus Almanac, accessed 6 November 2008
- Dean, Winton; Knapp, J. Merrill (1987), Handel's Operas, 1704-1726, Clarendon Press, ISBN 0193152193 The first of the two volume definitive reference on the operas of Handel
- Teseo by Anthony Hicks, in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7