G.F. Handel
SEMELE, drama, HWV 58
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, soprano (Cupid)
Peter Davoren, tenor (Apollo)
Angharad Rowlands, mezzo-soprano (Augur)
Dan D'Souza, baritone (High Priest)
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists
John Eliot Gardiner, dir.
In Spring 2019, the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, led by John Eliot Gardiner,
presented a critically-acclaimed European tour of Handel’s opera
‘Semele’, including Alexandra Palace Theatre in London, where this live
recording took place. Before the tour, Semele had not been performed by
John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi ensembles since they originally
recorded it in the 1980s and this recording gives listeners the chance
to hear a fuller version of the work.
A glamorous team of young soloists joins the Monteverdi ensembles to bring the story of Semele to life, including celebrated English soprano Louise Alder, who takes on the title role, with the young tenor Hugo Hymas portraying the amorous Jupiter.
“Semele’s musical score is a glorious blend of irresistible solo arias – some virtuosic showstoppers, others lyrical, sensual and evocative, ensembles, duets, accompanied recitatives and (unlike his operas) imposing choruses. Still more than when I first performed it and recorded it almost forty years ago, I feel Semele’s time has finally come.” John Eliot Gardiner
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