Imeneo
Encyclopedia
Imeneo is an opera seria
in three acts by George Frideric Handel
. The Italian
-language libretto
was adapted from Silvio Stampiglia
's Imeneo. Handel had begun composition in September 1738, but did not complete the score until 1740. The opera received its first performance at the Lincoln's Inn Fields
in London
on 22 November 1740, and received another performance on 13 December. Handel then revised the score, and this revised version received concert performances in Dublin, on 24 and 31 March 1742.
on 13 March 1960, conducted by Horst-Tanu Margraf
. The work was soon after performed in Birmingham in 1961, under the direction of Anthony Lewis
. Lewis also led the first London revival of the opera since Handel's time, in 1972 at the Royal Academy of Music
. Lewis has prepared a performing edition of the opera.
. Additionally, Clomiri has amorous feelings for Imeneo. Clomiri helps Imeneo realize that Rosmene is hesitant because of her relationship with Tirinto, and that she is putting his contentment before hers. When Imeneo, who insists that Rosmene is ungrateful, and Tirinto, who calls her unfaithful, tell her to decide who she will marry, she feigns a nervous breakdown
in front of the characters. Eventually, she marries Imeneo. She learns that true love is not as important as honor and duty. Rosmene asks Tirinto to be happy for her. Her decision leaves Clomiri and Tirinto to cry at the end. The chorus at the end of the opera restates that one must not bow down to one's desire, but to reason; one must not follow true feelings and fidelity, but gratitude and honor.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12259249
, Leipzig 1885)
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 from Silvio Stampiglia
Silvio Stampiglia
Silvio Stampiglia was an Italian poet, librettist, and founder member of the Accademia dell'Arcadia under the penname of Palemone Licurio.-Libretti:Operas...
's Imeneo. Handel had begun composition in September 1738, but did not complete the score until 1740. The opera received its first performance at the Lincoln's Inn Fields
Lincoln's Inn Fields
Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London, UK. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in developing London", as Sir Nikolaus Pevsner observes...
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 22 November 1740, and received another performance on 13 December. Handel then revised the score, and this revised version received concert performances in Dublin, on 24 and 31 March 1742.
Performance history
The first modern production was at the Halle Opera HouseHalle Opera House
The Halle Opera House is an opera house in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. Originally named the Halle Town Theatre , the theatre was built in 1886. A bomb attack on 31 March 1945 destroyed much of the original building. Restorative work ensued a few years later, and the theatre reopened in 1951 under the...
on 13 March 1960, conducted by Horst-Tanu Margraf
Horst-Tanu Margraf
Horst-Tanu Margraf was a German conductor, Generalmusikdirektor of Halle from 1950 to 1969.Margraf was Music director in Lemberg during World War II. In Halle he was one of the founders of the Handel Festival...
. The work was soon after performed in Birmingham in 1961, under the direction of Anthony Lewis
Anthony Lewis (musician)
Sir Anthony Carey Lewis KBE was an English conductor, composer, editor, and music educator. He is best known for co-founding and serving as the first chief editor of Musica Britannica...
. Lewis also led the first London revival of the opera since Handel's time, in 1972 at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
. Lewis has prepared a performing edition of the opera.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 22 November 1740 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Imeneo | bass | William Savage William Savage William Savage was an English composer, organist, and singer of the 18th century. He sang as a boy treble and alto, a countertenor, and as a bass... |
| Tirinto | alto Alto Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,... 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 Battista Andreoni |
| Rosmene | 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... |
Elisabeth Duparc Elisabeth Duparc Elisabeth Duparc or Du Parc, nicknamed "La Francesina", was a French soprano notable for appearing in several premieres and performances of the oratorios and operas of Handel - she played the title role, for example, in the premiere of Semele.After training in Italy she sang in Florence then... |
| Clomiri | soprano | Miss Edwards |
| Argenio | bass | Henry Reinhold Henry Reinhold Henry Reinhold was a singer, reputed to be the son of the archbishop of Dresden.He was born in Dresden and showed an early aptitude for music, which his family apparently discouraged. But he secretly left Dresden to follow Handel, a friend of his reputed father, to London... |
Synopsis
The opera opens with Tirinto's lamentation of his lost love, Rosmene, to barbaric pirates. Another girl has been abducted, Clomiri. Together he grieves with Clomiri's father, Argenio. But they learn that a brave, strong man named Imeneo had killed every pirate while they were sleeping. Everyone rejoices, and Imeneo, along with the rest of the country and Rosmene's parents, expects Rosmene to marry him, though her true feelings are for Tirinto. Thus Rosmene is caught in a painfully awkward love triangleLove triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
. Additionally, Clomiri has amorous feelings for Imeneo. Clomiri helps Imeneo realize that Rosmene is hesitant because of her relationship with Tirinto, and that she is putting his contentment before hers. When Imeneo, who insists that Rosmene is ungrateful, and Tirinto, who calls her unfaithful, tell her to decide who she will marry, she feigns a nervous breakdown
Nervous breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
in front of the characters. Eventually, she marries Imeneo. She learns that true love is not as important as honor and duty. Rosmene asks Tirinto to be happy for her. Her decision leaves Clomiri and Tirinto to cry at the end. The chorus at the end of the opera restates that one must not bow down to one's desire, but to reason; one must not follow true feelings and fidelity, but gratitude and honor.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12259249
Recordings
Handel: Imeneo - Capella Augustina, Cologne Vocal Ensemble- Conductor: Andreas Spering
- Principal singers: Locky Chung, Siri ThornhillSiri ThornhillSiri Karoline Thornhill, born in England, is a Norwegian classical soprano for concert and opera, known for singing music of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Professional career :...
, Ann Hallenberg, Kay Stiefermann, Johanna Stojkovic - Recording date: 2 Feb 2004
- Label: cpo - B00011MK5G (CD)
E-book
Score of Imeneo (ed. Friedrich ChrysanderFriedrich Chrysander
Karl Franz Friedrich Chrysander was a German music historian and critic, whose edition of the works of George Frideric Handel and authoritative writings on many other composers established him as a pioneer of 19th-century musicology.Born at Lübtheen, in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Chrysander was the son...
, Leipzig 1885)