Orchestra Of The Age Of Enlightenment, Louise Alder

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Louise Alder, the exciting young soprano, team up for this performance of Handel’s provocative opera Semele.
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Be careful what you wish for. You don’t always want to see your lover for who they really are.

When Handel premiered Semele in Covent Garden in 1744, he shocked audiences expecting something solemn for Lent with this steamy, sexy story of gods having affairs with mortals.

It's still a sensuous evocation of the illusions and delusions of love. Semele is smitten with Jupiter, but you can’t just buy a house and start a family when you’ve fallen for a god.

Performed here in its entirety, enjoy extraordinary arias and probably the best chorus music in any of Handel's operas.

Soprano Louise Alder stars in the title role, while Ivor Bolton, who conducted the OAE’s award-winning production of Handel’s Saul for Glyndebourne, takes the conductor’s baton.

Performers
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Ivor Bolton conductor
Louise Alder soprano, Semele
Ray Chenez countertenor, Athamas
James Way tenor, Jupiter
Brindley Sherratt bass, Somnus, Cadmus
Mary Bevan soprano, Iris
Catherine Wyn-Rogers mezzo-soprano, Juno
Ciara Hendrick mezzo-soprano, Ino
Nick Pritchard tenor, Apollo
James Newby bass, High Priest

Repertoire
Handel: Semele