Despite Alceste never being performed, Handel repurposed much of its music for other works, including The Choice of Hercules, Belshazzar, and Alexander Balus.
Recording & Production
The harpsichord used in this recording is a 1989 Mackinnon and Waitzmann double manual, Flemish style instrument, modeled after a 1624 original by Ioannes Ruckers.
Composition History
Handel composed the music for Alceste between December 27, 1749, and January 8, 1750, but the production was aborted soon after rehearsals began for unclear reasons.
Composition History
Alceste was intended as an expensive collaboration between playwright Tobias Smollett, the Covent Garden company, theatre manager John Rich, composer Handel, librettist Thomas Morell, and scene designer Giovanni Servandoni.
Critical Reception
One hypothesis for Alceste's cancellation was that theatre owner John Rich rejected Handel's music as "too good for [his] Performers," according to librettist Thomas Morell.
Composition History
Handel's incidental music for Alceste was his only extensive attempt to provide music for a spoken English play.
Recording & Production
This recording uses historically accurate equal tension stringing for the string players, with most avoiding metal wound strings.
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