Arianna in Creta
Encyclopedia
Arianna in Creta is an opera seria
in three acts by George Frideric Handel
. The Italian
-language libretto
was adapted by Francis Colman from Pietro Pariati's Arianna e Teseo, a text previously set by Nicola Porpora
in 1727 and Leonardo Leo
in 1729.
in London
on 26 January 1734.
The Göttingen
Handel Festival presented the work in 1999, and it was also performed by Les Talens Lyriques
under Christophe Rousset
in 2002, in venues in Germany and France. The cast included Sandrine Piau
, Ann-Liese Sollied, Ann Hallenberg, and Kristinna Hammarström.
Opera seria
Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770...
in three acts by George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
. The Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
-language libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
was adapted by Francis Colman from Pietro Pariati's Arianna e Teseo, a text previously set by Nicola Porpora
Nicola Porpora
Nicola Porpora was an Italian composer of Baroque operas and teacher of singing, whose most famous singing student was the castrato Farinelli. One of his other students was composer Matteo Capranica.-Biography:Porpora was born in Naples...
in 1727 and Leonardo Leo
Leonardo Leo
Leonardo Leo , more correctly Lionardo Oronzo Salvatore de Leo, was an Italian Baroque composer.-Biography:...
in 1729.
Performance history
The opera was first given at the King's TheatreHer Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 26 January 1734.
The Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
Handel Festival presented the work in 1999, and it was also performed by Les Talens Lyriques
Les Talens Lyriques
Les Talens Lyriques is a baroque orchestra founded in 1991 by French conductor Christophe Rousset.The ensemble takes its name from Jean-Philippe Rameau's opéra-ballet Les fêtes d'Hébé ou les talens lyriques .- External links :...
under Christophe Rousset
Christophe Rousset
Christophe Rousset is a French harpsichordist and conductor, specializing in the performance of baroque music on period instruments.-Biography:...
in 2002, in venues in Germany and France. The cast included Sandrine Piau
Sandrine Piau
Sandrine Piau is an opera soprano. Trained as a harpist, she studied voice at the Collège Lamartine and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique du Paris....
, Ann-Liese Sollied, Ann Hallenberg, and Kristinna Hammarström.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 26 January 1734 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Arianna | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Anna Maria Strada Anna Maria Strada Anna Maria Strada was an Italian soprano of the 18th century. She is best remembered for her association with the composer George Frideric Handel, in whose operas Strada sang.-Career:... |
| Teseo | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... castrato Castrato A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.Castration before puberty prevents a boy's... |
Giovanni Carestini Giovanni Carestini Giovanni Carestini was an Italian castrato of the 18th century, who sang in the operas and oratorios of George Frideric Handel... |
| Carilda | alto | Maria Caterina Negri |
| Alceste | soprano castrato | Carlo Scalzi Carlo Scalzi Carlo Scalzi was an Italian castrato who had an active performance career in major opera houses in Italy from 1718-1738. He was also heard in London in 1733-1734 where he notably created the role of Alceste in the world premiere of George Frideric Handel's Arianna in Creta... |
| Tauride | soprano | Margherita Durastanti Margherita Durastanti Margherita Durastanti was an Italian singer of the 18th century. Vocally, she is best described as a soprano, though later in her career her tessitura descended to that of a mezzo-soprano. First heard of professionally in Mantua in 1700-01, she later appeared in Bologna and Reggio Emilia , Milan... |
| Minos | bass | Gustavus Waltz Gustavus Waltz Gustavus Waltz was a bass opera singer who collaborated with Handel.Like Handel himself, Waltz was a naturalized Englishman, originally German, and is said to have worked for Handel as a cook. Their collaboration began in 1732. Waltz was a choral singer as well as a soloist.Waltz created roles in... |
Recordings
- Arianna in Creta - Orchestra of Patras. Conductor: George Petrou. Principal singers: Petros Magoulas (Minos), Irini Karaianni (Carilda), Marita Paparizou (Tauride), Mary-Ellen Nesi (Teseo), Theodora Baka (Alceste), Mata Katsuli (Arianna) Recording date: 2005 Label: MD&G Records - 7609 1375-2 (CD)
- Arianna in Creta. Göttingen Handel Festival. cond. Nicholas McGeganNicholas McGeganNicholas McGegan OBE is a British harpsichordist, flautist, conductor and early music expert....
. Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. (3 CDs 1999). Arianna: Sophie Daneman; Alceste: Christine Brandes; Teseo: Wilke te Brummelstroete; Tauride: Cécile van de Sant; Carilda: Jennifer Lane; Minos: Philip Cutlip; Il Sonno: Tilmann Prautzsch. Sold by the German Handel Society. - Arianna in Creta - Live performance recorded at the Barbican Centre, London , Sunday 17 May 2009, cond. Christopher Hogwood. Broadcast 24 and 25 September 2009, BBC Radio 3.
- Arianna in Creta. - Live performance. Christophe RoussetChristophe RoussetChristophe Rousset is a French harpsichordist and conductor, specializing in the performance of baroque music on period instruments.-Biography:...
, Les Talens LyriquesLes Talens LyriquesLes Talens Lyriques is a baroque orchestra founded in 1991 by French conductor Christophe Rousset.The ensemble takes its name from Jean-Philippe Rameau's opéra-ballet Les fêtes d'Hébé ou les talens lyriques .- External links :...
. Arianna: Sandrine PiauSandrine PiauSandrine Piau is an opera soprano. Trained as a harpist, she studied voice at the Collège Lamartine and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique du Paris....
; Teseo: Kristina Hammarström; Carilda: Ewa Wolak, ; Tauride: Ann Hallenberg; Alceste: Anne-Lise Sollied; Minos / Il Sonno: Evguenyi Alexiev, Bariton. Radio.