Semele (Handel)
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Semele is a "musical drama", originally presented "after the manner of an oratorio", in three parts by George Frideric Handel. Based on an existing opera libretto by William Congreve, the work is an o
George Frideric Handel
Interior, Theatre Royal Covent Garden where Semele was first performed
John Beard, who created the role of Jupiter
Èlisabeth Duparc, called "La Francesina", who created the role of Semele
Semele
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In Greek mythology, Semele, or Thyone, was the youngest daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, and the mother of Dionysus by Zeus.
Semele (Handel)
…but name but was first presented in concert form at Covent Garden theatre on 10 February 1744. The story comes from Ovid's Metamorphoses and concerns Semele, mother of Bacchus. Handel also referred to the work as "The Story of Semele". The work contains the famous aria "Where'er you walk". The work fuses…
Semele and Dionysus on a black-figure hydria, ca. 520-500 BC, Antikensammlung Berlin
Jove and Semele (1695) by Sebastiano Ricci. Galleria degli Uffizi. Florence
Zeus, Semele und Hera. 17th century (Erasmus Quellinus II or Jan Erasmus Quellinus)
Rubens. Jupiter and Semele (Ovid, Metamorphoses, III, 259–309). Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium