Name: Semele
Start: 2019-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2019-05-08T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Philharmonie de Paris

Organization

Bass

Robert Davies

High Priest

Conductor

John Eliot Gardiner

Stage director

Thomas Guthrie

Lighting designer

Rick Fisher

Costume designer

Patricia Hofstede

Soprano

Louise Alder

Semele

Tenor

Hugo Hymas

Jupiter

Mezzo-soprano

Lucile Richardot

Juno

Contralto

Carlo Vistoli

Athamas

Gianluca Buratto

Cadmus

Singer

Sleep

Emily Owen

Iris

Peter Davoren

Apollo

Angharad Rowlands

Endless Pleasure

Orchestra

English Baroque Soloists

Others

Monteverdi Choir

Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras

English

Rome

Italy

Milan

Teatro alla Scala

London

United Kingdom

Alexandra Palace Theatre

Barcelona

Spain

Palau de la Música Catalana

Paris

France

Philharmonie de Paris

Handel’s masterpiece Semele, first performed in London in 1744, is not technically an opera per se, but rather an oratorio perfectly suited to the stage, thanks to William Congreve’s brilliantly dramatic libretto that finds its roots in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. 

The work is composed of numerous richly melodic, astonishingly expressive arias and choruses, including “Oh sleep, why dost thou leave me?”, “Where’er you walk”, or the exquisite “Endless pleasure, endless love”! 

In this incredible production, recorded at London’s iconic Alexandra Palace and directed by Thomas Guthrie and his team, the world-renowned maestro John Eliot Gardiner conducts the Monteverdi Choir, the English Baroque Soloists and a fantastic cast of singers specializing in the repertoire, with the remarkable soprano Louise Alder in the title role.

Production booklet

Further reading