Handel's opera 'Admeto' features an orchestral introduction marked 'Lentamento' where the audience sees King Admeto on his deathbed, tormented by Furies.
Performer Biography
Joyce DiDonato, the mezzo-soprano on this album, chose the theme of 'fury' for her first aria disc because she believes Handel's genius allows for a profoundly emotional journey through complex characters.
Composer Biography
George Frideric Handel, the composer of these opera arias, moved to London in 1712 and spent the rest of his life there writing, performing, and revising music theatre works.
Critical Reception
Despite 'Hercules' performances being 'jinxed by bad luck', members of Handel's orchestra considered its music remarkably imaginative and powerful, telling the Earl of Shaftesbury that the composer 'never wrote any-thing beyond it in his life'.
Composition History
After 1741, Handel stopped writing and performing Italian operas in London, instead creating unstaged English music dramas based on Greek mythology, such as 'Semele' and 'Hercules'.
Composition History
In 1719, the Royal Academy of Music was founded by aristocratic patrons in London to produce Italian operas, and Handel was appointed its music director.
Compositional Technique
Handel often reused and rearranged his own musical material; for example, music from the chamber cantata 'Aure soavi, e liete' was adapted for Medea's aria 'Dolce riposo' in the opera 'Teseo'.
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