Soloists, Mixed choir,
Orchestra
SKU:
BA.BA04025-01
Composed by George
Frideric Handel. Edited
by
Georg-Friedrich-Händel
-Gesellschaft e. V.
Risinger and Mark. This
edition: Complete
edition. Linen. Complete
edition, Score. HWV 58.
Baerenreiter Verlag
#BA04025-01. Published by
Baerenreiter Verlag
(BA.BA04025-01).
ISBN
9790006443222. 33 x 26 cm
inches. Text Language:
English.
Handelâ??
s â??Semeleâ?, which
premiered in February
1744, is based on an
adapted version of
William Congreveâ??s
opera libretto titled
â??The Story of
Semeleâ?, originally
published in 1706.
However, neither Handel
nor his librettist
referred to
â??Semeleâ? as an
opera or an oratorio,
which, according to the
understanding at the
time, would have required
a biblical and/or
Christian subject matter.
Contemporary audiences
also disagreed on the
genre. The problematic
classification as an
oratorio has persisted
into the present day,
likely due to the edition
labeled as such by
Chrysander. The â??Halle
Handel Editionâ? (HHA)
distances itself from
this classification and,
considering the available
sources, refrains from
assigning a genre
label.
Congreve
deviates from the
mythological source
multiple times in order
to create tensions among
the characters. The
desired marriage between
Semele and Athamas, whom
she does not love, is an
addition by Congreve to
provoke the envy of her
sister Ino, who desires
Athamas herself.
Therefore, Ino sees her
own advantage in
Semeleâ??s abduction by
Jupiter. While
Jupiterâ??s wife Juno
decides to destroy Semele
out of jealousy for his
relationship with her,
Jupiter brings Ino to his
palace to console Semele.
The vengeful Juno takes
advantage of Inoâ??s
presence and transforms
into her likeness,
persuading Semele to
carry out a plan that
later proves fatal. In
the end, Ino emerges as
the winner, as she is
able to convince their
father, Cadmus, to marry
her to Athamas. The
appearance of Apollo in
the final scene to
announce that Semeleâ??s
immortal son Bacchus was
saved from her ashes
provides little
consolation. However,
this twist allows the
drama to conclude with
exuberant joy and a
magnificent final chorus
after the tragic scenes
in the third act,
culminating in the death
of the
protagonist.
Hande
lâ??s autograph score
shows significant
deviations from and
numerous revisions of the
original version
premiered. All surviving
early versions, the
musical movements deleted
before the premiere, and
the version of the
December 1744, are given
in the appendix to the
HHA.
Semele, HWV 58
