Mid Wales Opera

Mid Wales Opera and The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama present a co-production :-

Handel’s masterpiece of baroque opera

Music G. F. Handel, Libretto William Congreve after Ovid.

Musical Director Nicholas Cleobury,
Artistic Director Martin Constantine

First performed in 1744 at Covent Garden, Handel’s Semele originally appeared as an Oratorio rather than an opera – and instantly caused a stir. The production used Congreve’s libretto based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses to bring to life the tragic tale of Semele’s ill-fated love for Jupiter the King of the Gods.

Featuring giant eagles, a dragon-guarded castle, thunder and lightning the Oratorio was a spectacular departure from Handel’s previous works and ran for only four nights. Revived only once in December 1744, Semele was never again performed in his lifetime and only brought back into repertoire by professional companies in the twentieth century – we believe this will be the debut professional production in Wales.

However, the work is undoubtedly one of the jewels of baroque opera. It contains the stunning tenor aria “Where’er you walk” and Semele’s joyous “Endless pleasure, endless love”. As a farewell “swan song” our Artistic Director Nicholas Cleobury is teaming up with internationally renowned director Martin Constantine to stage this musically and dramatically breath-taking work.