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Home , Anthony Hicks, Anthony Lewis (musician), Christian Curnyn, Christina Maria Avoglio, Deborah (Handel), Deidamia (opera)

CHARACTERIZATIONS OF IN HANDEL’S DRAMATIC WORK Ò AN HONORS THESIS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF

CHRISTINE M. MUMMA

TUFTS UNIVERSITY 2009

Acknowledgements:

While writing this thesis took me countless hours of study and typing in libraries around the world, I could not have completed it without the help of several instrumental people. First and foremost is my adviser in the music department at Tufts University, Professor Jane Bernstein. Her guidance, advice, and comments were vital to the completion of this project. She not only kept me on track throughout the lengthy process but also steered me in the right direction when at times I felt hopelessly lost and overwhelmed. I would also like to thank Professor Alessandra Campana for serving on my thesis committee and for her great enthusiasm about music history that inspired me while I was in her class. The Undergraduate Research Fund under the direction of Dean James Glaser provided me with funds to travel to to conduct research at the and see the Museum. Both were invaluable sources of information. Professor Ellen Harris at MIT took the time to meet with me and help me narrow down my subject as well as providing me with great leads for research before I went to London, and John K. Andrews, Ph.D. corresponded with me and assisted in directing me to several very relevant articles to my thesis topic. The staffs of the Tisch Library at Tufts University, University’s Ingalls Engineering Resource Center, and the Beloit College Library were all accommodating to me while I spent time working there. Special thanks goes to Michael Rogan, Julie-Ann Bryson and the student staff at the Lilly Music Library at Tufts for assisting me with so many inquiries and material requests throughout the year. Additionally, the staff at the British Library in London was magnificent in helping me track down relevant Handel sources and distinguishing between relevant manuscripts, autographs, and . Finally, I would like to thank my friends for their encouragement when I thought I would never finish, but most of all, I want to acknowledge my parents. Growing up with musicians for parents, music was an integral part of our household, and my love of such diverse genres stems directly from their influence. I want to especially thank them for their unwavering support and feedback during this thesis process.

--Christine Mumma, April 28, 2009

Table of Contents

Introduction Chapter 1: Handel, seria and the

Chapter 2: Handel, the Emergence of the English Oratorio, and of Semele

Chapter 3: Semele: Opera or Oratorio?

Chapter 4: Origins of Story and

Chapter 5: Semele as Social and Political Commentary

Chapter 6: Semele: Her Character and Music

Chapter 7: Performance History, Editions, and Recordings Conclusion Bibliography

Characterizations of Semele in Handel’s Dramatic Work

Growing up in the small town of , Germany at the end of the seventeenth-century,

the concept of London, must have seemed to belong to another world for the young

George Frideric Handel. Yet the prolific would spend almost two-thirds of his life in his adopted homeland and manage to not only become the preeminent opera composer in the country but also to establish a new form – the English oratorio.

Under pressure from political elements to not stray from his own structures, Handel had difficulty when, in the mid 1730s, it appeared that Italian opera in London was failing.

Struggling to continue to write innovative and appreciated works, he fluctuated between opera and a popular style of oratorio that had originally been written for a private patron, and taken off almost by accident. Yet within this new form, Handel broke his own well-established rules when he created the work Semele. Experts have argued whether this is in fact an oratorio, a masque, an

English opera, or something else entirely. To be sure, Handel deviated from his own well- established guidelines in creating either an oratorio on a non-secular subject, or an opera in

English that was merely sung and not enacted as well.

Handel’s aberration is an important juncture in the history of not only English music but the development of precedent in European style. Oratorio as a distinct genre was created by

Handel and flourished for centuries across the continent; conversely, opera in Italian fell out of favor with the English public at this time, and opera written in the English language, unlike

French, Italian, or German, never emerged as a viable, serious, or popular endeavor.

CHAPTER ONE: Handel, and the Oratorio

When Handel came to England after growing up in Germany and studying in Italy, he

was known first and foremost as a composer of opera. Filling the void left by the deaths of and in England, Handel essentially introduced England to Italian opera with

the production of his , which was a huge success among the growing concert-going

public.1 Prior to this, the term “opera” in London really referred to what is known as semi-opera

- a mixture of spoken lines interspersed with supplementary music;2 straight drama and

pasticcios made up of both English and Italian songs dominated the London stage.3 Although he

was under contract to return to Hanover where he had been appointed as Kapellmiester,

renowned for his virtuosic organ-playing abilities, Handel soon returned to London, where he

would remain for the rest of his life. The music and theatre of England would forever be changed

by his influence.

Opera seria, more than anything else, was a showcase for its singers. The original

were almost always written with specific singers and their abilities and talents in mind; however,

when a revival was mounted, the inability to incorporate the original cast often meant that

changes must be considered. Like his contemporaries, Handel often borrowed from his other

operas or works to compensate for holes or the capabilities of his performers with the result that

several of his operas ended up as pasticcios, with music taken from both himself as well as

others. Another tradition (which evidence shows might have been used in Semele and perhaps

other as well, if only to even out the number of sung by each leading role) was the

practice of having other characters sing arias for what were originally different vocal ranges. The

emphasis on individual performances and arias was so great that Handel would rather have a

different character sing the piece, as written, than either exclude it altogether or somehow modify

1 Handel House Museum Informational Display 2 Richard Platt, ed., Musica Britannica: A National Collection of Music, LXXVI, Semele: An Opera, (London: Stainer and Bell, 2000), xxiii. 3 , Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 367. it to fit the range of the new singer4 (Handel ardently believed in the idea that each key had not only its own timbre, but also an ideal purpose, and thus would have been especially reluctant to change the key dramatically unless absolutely left with no other option).

Character types were usually represented by vocal ranges. The castrati who sang and alto were the superstars, and thus it was they who usually sang the role of hero. Villains, old men and lesser males were played by basses and baritones. roles were uncommon and usually inconsequential. The heroines were portrayed by , often with a prima donna in

the lead, although in order to avoid possible calamity at points in his career Handel balanced two

female soprano leads in works such as . Matrons were normally played by altos.5

Most of the characters were clearly defined as “good” or “bad” – people the audience should root for and sympathize with versus scoundrels it was easy to denounce. Although some of these conventions carried over to oratorio, many seemed to no longer matter as much. For instance, castrati were rarely included because English singers could and were used. then became more popular as the range for the hero.

Anthony Lewis writes, “Handel chose the as the chief vehicle for his melodic thought. Perhaps to say he ‘chose’ it is to be rather misleading, for he was primarily a dramatic composer and the aria had been generally established as the lyrical form in opera seria…well before Handel’s maturity.” He continues, “Even if he had been moved to do so [modify the standard forms of the aria], it is doubtful whether he would have felt there was sufficient justification to devise a new form.”6 Like most of dramatic music during this time

period, Handel explicitly avoided writing pieces for more than two soloists in his operas. Dean

4 Winton Dean and John Merrill Knapp, Handel’s Operas 1704 – 1726 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987), 5-6. 5 Eric T. Lam, “Rhetoric and Opera Seria” GFHandel.org, http://gfhandel.org/seria.htm. 6 , “Handel and the Aria,” Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, 85th Session (1958-9), 95- 6. JSTOR. writes that “there was no place for the higher drama in opera seria” and thus there are only six

trios and three quartets in Handel’s forty operas.7

Instead, mood was conveyed through arias. Each aria is limited to a certain temper or

Affekt, occasionally two if the B section presents a divergent mood; however, since each aria was

presumably in the da capo form, the original disposition is the important point and the one with

which the audience will be left. Through these arias, Handel built up a character over time, as he

or she reacted to situation, revealed motivations, and exposed personal foibles. “A character in a

Handel opera is expressed musically by the sum of the arias given to him. Each aria reveals a

different characteristic.”8 Handel did not always use strict da capo form in his arias. Instead, he liked to change certain aspects to tease the ear. Ritornellos were modified or changed, vocal lines adapted, and the entire section sometimes shortened. This is also true of some of the da capo arias in oratorios. Lewis sums up, “The very stiffness of contemporary patterns served to display all the more clearly the flexibility of Handel’s lively imagination.”9 Ostensibly, in opera, each

aria was connected by an intervening that served to further the plot and provide

transition from the arias of different characters. Because characters usually left the stage, at least

temporarily, after singing an aria in order to obtain applause, the plot organization could at times

appear to be loosely organized, but the convoluted scenarios were rarely the point.10 In fact, having the characters leave after singing an aria was largely an effect of staging. The curtain was left up the entire time, meaning scenes had to be changed while action was ongoing.

In oratorio, Handel felt no such qualms about having characters sing multiple arias in a row. If anything, the oratorio gave him the perfect stage to continue writing his varied and

7 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 70. 8 Hugo Leichtentritt, Music, History, and Ideas (Cambridge, : Press, 1938), 150. 9 Ibid, 96. 10 Eric T. Lam, “Rhetoric and Baroque Opera Seria” GFHandel.org, http://gfhandel.org/seria.htm. extraordinarily popular arias that only grew in acclaim with time, yet he was also able to break

free of the constraining da capo form when warranted. In a huge boost to plot continuity,

characters could actually remain in a scene and have vital and worthwhile interactions with other

characters without being forced to awkwardly leave after singing an aria. A comparison between

the opera , which has one chorus sung by the principals, one quartet, four accompanied

and twenty five arias, all of them da capo, to the oratorio shows the differences

in variety found in oratorios. Saul consists of fourteen choruses, a trio, two duets, eight

accompanied recitatives, and thirty airs, only five of which are da capo.11 While Handel bent the

da capo rules, so to speak, in his later operas and early oratorios, Semele is really the first

oratorio in which Handel deliberately incorporated the trend throughout, although it

would continue in his later oratorios.12 While some of the da capo arias found in the oratorios seem superfluous, most do an excellent job at reiterating the main and original context and emotion of the aria. In oratorio, Handel found “considerable freedom from the strict…da capo form of the opera seria [yet] it is equally clear that the da capo continued to exert a powerful influence on Handel’s aria composition throughout his career.”13

In addition to the da capo arias, another large difference between opera and oratorio is

the chorus. Operas contain very few choruses, and when they do appear, even in Handel operas,

they are less complicated and not as intricate as the later oratorio choruses.14 When Handel did use a chorus in his operas, they were very nearly always a way to convey the “indispensible happy ending” and sung by the principals who were onstage. The unspoken rule of opera seria

11 Winton Dean, “The Dramatic Element in Handel’s Oratorios,” Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, 79th Sess, (1952-53): 44. JSTOR. 12 David Ross Hurley, Handel’s Muse: Patterns of Creation in his Oratorios and Musical Dramas, 1743-1751 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 4. 13 C. Steven LaRue, “Handel and the Aria,” in The Cambridge Companion to Handel, ed. Donald Burrows (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1997), 120. 14 David Ross Hurley, Handel’s Muse: Patterns of Creation in his Oratorios and Musical Dramas, 1743-1751 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 3. that no matter the occurrences, all must end well in some fashion, can and does lead to what

many deem ridiculous endings. Nevertheless, since the point was to showcase the talent of the

singers as well as to present a staging entertainment, few at the time objected to strained

credibility of many opera resolutions. The only time the curtain did go down in opera seria was

right before the climactic ending, when it would rise to reveal the entire cast crowded onstage.

To this end, the means of getting all the characters back onstage at one time often took strange

twists of plot, yet were absolutely expected by the audience.15

Although Mainwaring states that it is in the oratorios that Handel “failed the most and the

oftenest,”16 in his attempts at great vocal music, even he admits that it is intriguingly the

choruses of the oratorios that today best convey the immense power and strength for which

Handel is lauded. Making dramatic use of the chorus is one of the hallmarks of a Handelian

oratorio; it first began in earnest with the composition of . Throughout the oratorios, the

choruses play integral parts, if not within the actual drama itself, which they often are, then

serving as a means to reflect the human morals of the drama.17 It was also this penchant for full,

layered sound that led Handel to experiment with the power and role of instruments. For

instance, he introduced the use of horns in Italian opera for the first time. He also was among the

first to include clarinets in an opera score, which occurred in a revision of an aria in

Tamerlano.18 Handel saw instrumental music as something of importance in and of itself, and not just basic accompaniment for the vocalists, and he strove to construct not only the ideal

15Winton Dean and John Merrill Knapp, Handel’s Operas 1704 – 1726 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987), 14. 16 , Memoirs of the Life of the Late George Frederic Handel (New York: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1980), originally published in London: R. and J. Dodsley, 1760, 181. 17 Winton Dean, “The Dramatic Element in Handel’s Oratorios,” Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, 79th Sess, (1952-53): 39. JSTOR. 18 Herbert Weinstock, Handel (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946), 124. complement in melody, harmony, and rhythm to the vocal line but also the perfect tone color,

using a wider variety of instrumentation than most composers of the era.19

His skill in recitative easily crossed over from opera work to oratorios. Semele has thirteen accompanied recitatives, “nearly all elaborately organized.”20 In oratorio, Handel could

again more readily incorporate one of his fortes, the accompanied recitative. Hindered in strict opera seria by a need to keep the recitative quick and light, Handel had the freedom in oratorio to adapt the form and the order of pieces, giving greater rise to a variety of arrangements.

Although Semele features a magnificent quartet, in general, Handel’s duets, trios, and the occasional quartet are too infrequent in his vocal works. In oratorios, however, Handel was better able to use the ensemble as a dramatic element, incorporating five trios, two quartets

(including the one in Semele), and one quintet within his eighteen works. Almost all of them are placed at an important climax in the piece and serve to further the eventual resolution while keeping the basic nature of the characters true to their development.21 Even though the format

had changed, the style of full, complex scores with individual intricacies consisting of separate,

yet complementary vocal lines was consistent throughout his career, whether he was in

Germany, Italy, or England, or composing opera, oratorio, or other vocal or instrumental works, and further, Handel’s ability to experiment and integrate these hallmarks of his composition style were greatly increased in the oratorio genre.

The exact definition of an oratorio can be a bit unclear at times. In general, it is a large- scale dramatic work featuring a , soloist, and an orchestra; based on a sacred story; and presented without theatrical implements such as scenery, staging, or costumes. Handel’s

19 John Tobin, Handel at Work (London: Cassell, 1964), 24, 29. 20 Winton Dean, “The Dramatic Element in Handel’s Oratorios,” Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, 79th Sess, (1952-53): 44. JSTOR. 21 Ibid. sometime librettist Newburgh Hamilton attempted a layman’s definition in the preface to

for the public. “…as Mr Handel had so happily here introduc’d Oratorios, a musical drama, whose subject must be Scriptural, and in which the Solemnity of Church-Musick is agreeably united with the most pleasing Airs of the Stage.”22

It was a misconception long after Handel’s death, and it remains so today in many circles,

that the oratorios are religious works, to be performed in churches. In fact, while the majority of the subjects were religious, that had more to do with the acceptability of the subject matter at the

time and was a way for Handel to circumnavigate the sometimes treacherous combination of

music and politics that were occurring in London. Sacred church music was completely different

and mutually exclusive from music for the stage, and Handel was not immune to some initial

criticism as the English public debated about accepting the oratorio genre.23 Because of early

hesitance in understanding and accepting Handel’s new endeavors, later attempted changes by

Handel in the defined concept of what an oratorio was may have proved too much for the

precise, rule-bound English. In reality, with only one exception, every one of Handel’s oratorios

were performed in the theatre, as a dramatic concert work, and not in a sacred building as part of

a religious ceremony or even anything resembling that form. They were given as entertainment,

albeit the kind that would appeal to the increasing sensitivity regarding morality.24

The unstaged oratorio provided a cheaper and easier means of presentation for Handel’s

music, eliminating the issues of capricious Italian opera singers, costumes, sets, blocking, and his

collaborators on these matters. Still, he felt obliged to incorporate “the appearance of a plot or

22 , “Handel and the Idea of an Oratorio,” in The Cambridge Companion to Handel, ed. Donald Burrows (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1997), 158. 23 Ruth Smith, Handel’s Oratorios and Eighteenth-Century Thought (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1995), 44. 24 Winton Dean, “The Dramatic Element in Handel’s Oratorios,” Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, 79th Sess, (1952-53): 33. JSTOR. fable” in his oratorio works, perhaps not so unusual for an opera composer. Although the staging would be a mere accessory to the drama, in works such as Semele where there were specific

scenes, settings, and stage cues, not being able to utilize these augmentations to the story seems

almost as if it is doing the work a disservice. To be forbidden from incorporating such obvious additions must have frustrated Handel. Indeed, and Acis and were both originally staged; As Dean states, “there are no grounds, historical, aesthetic or religious, for refusing to act them, and overwhelming reasons for doing so.”25 It is understandable, then, that with the

restrictions of the eighteenth- century lifted, staged versions of certain dramatic works, especially

the secular oratorios including Semele has become de rigueur, while unstaged, essentially

concert versions of other sacred oratorios (ie, ) have remained popular.26 In fact, Dean hypothesizes that Handel used the absence of visual drama to realize the intensity of drama within the music itself, surpassing anything he wrote in the strictures of opera.27

Of course, the other vital aspect of Handel’s oratorios was that they were all completely

done in English. Drawing initially from Handel’s interaction with great English poets while in the circles of his aristocratic patrons, Handel later worked with librettist such as Charles

Jennings, Newburgh Hamilton, and and drew from a wide variety of sources for his English works. The religious librettos centered on a particular dramatized event that was enhanced with actions and discourse added or invented along the guidelines of the Scripture from which it was taken; rarely were the librettos taken directly from the Bible. For his secular works,

Handel usually used text that was already written, although it was often reconstructed for his use and not taken whole in its original entirety. Nevertheless, the how and why of Handel’s choosing

25 Winton Dean, “The Dramatic Element in Handel’s Oratorios,” Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, 79th Sess, (1952-53): 35. JSTOR. 26 Anthony Hicks, “Handel and the Idea of and Oratorio,” in The Cambridge Companion to Handel, ed. Donald Burrows (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1997), 162-3. 27 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 37. of librettos appears to be somewhat of a mystery. Although he sometimes refused subjects and

texts (such as the suggestion of a setting of Milton’s Paradise Lost), there is no evidence to

indicate that he actively sought out certain themes or had a particular agenda, hidden or

otherwise. Likely, his collaborators as well as his own awareness of popular texts and current

social trends brought certain texts to his attention at different times. Although most were based

on events revolving around the Bible, that custom was largely based on the success of Handel’s

previous oratorios that began with a fluke commission. Without question, however, Handel was

very much in charge of which librettos he chose to set and when. When Handel tried to change

the practice of sacred oratorios, as with Semele, he met with little success, and thus reverted back to the prior form that had earlier brought acclaim. Although writing librettos was by no means deemed a high form literary authorship, quite the opposite in fact, Handel’s status as the greatest

English composer increased his librettists’ own stature. Sometimes, as in the case of Jennens, personal and political goals were realized in the subject and approach of a text. Many were also fans and became friends of the composer and wanted to be part of his creation and performance process. Doubtless Handel was able to reach far more of the English public by presenting musical works in their native tongues, even if it was not his, and consequentially, his English librettists were able to have their works disseminated across society as well.28 Performances of

the oratorios were put on in taverns and private homes as well as the officially sanctioned

concerts in the recital halls. By the time oratorio was firmly established in the public’s mind,

Italian opera would be dead in England. But if it was to end, there would be a struggle, and

Handel would be right in the middle of it all.

28 Ruth Smith, “Handel’s English Librettists,” in The Cambridge Companion to Handel, ed. Donald Burrows (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1997), 102-8. Chapter 2: Handel, the Emergence of the English Oratorio, and the

Creation of Semele

Although oratorios existed before this time, Handel’s name is forever attached to the term

oratorio. Handel initially stumbled upon the genre. His first oratorio, Esther, was written in 1718

on behalf of his patron, the Earl of Carnarvon, and was too written for this private audience. It was later revived by the Children of the in a series of staged

performances in 1732. However, after a secret, unauthorized performance was given a few

months later, Handel took the liberty of expanding the work and presenting it at the King’s

Theatre in Haymarket with his Italian opera singers taking the parts of the featured soloists.

Because works featuring “sacred” subjects were not allowed in the public theatres, the Bishop of

London, Edmund Gibson, being a stern moralist, Handel made sure the oratorio was given as a

concert instead of staged.29

These initial forays into oratorio were surely not premeditated on Handel’s part, but they proved undeniably successful. The theatre manager Aaron Hill, wrote Handel a letter in

December of 1732, pleading with him to consider the possibility of English as a medium for

opera: “…deliver us from our Italian bondage; and demonstrate, that English is soft enough for

Opera, when compos’d by poets, who know how to distinguish the sweetness of our tongue, from

the strength of it…I am sure, a species of dramatic Opera might be invented.”30 Handel, while

thrilled with the success of his new works, at this point did not seriously consider abandoning

Italian opera. Throughout the rest of the 1730s, Handel continued to try to make his struggling

opera company successful while continuing to compose oratorios. During this gradual shift,

Handel wrote the operas (1734) and (1737-8) as well as the oratorios

29 Handel House Museum display information 30 Otto Erich Deutsch, Handel: A Documentary Biography (New York: Da Capo Press, 1974), 299. and Athalia ( both 1733) Saul (1738), and (1738).31 These first attempts at

oratorio by Handel prove that the genre was initially unformed and Handel himself was

attempting to develop norms and general patterns of the form. When Oxford invited him to

received an honorary doctorate (which, for unknown reasons, he eventually turned down),

Handel took the opportunity to present a season of unstaged English language works. It is then

that he fully realized that not only could he eliminate the costs of scenery, props, costumes, and

Italian opera singers, but he could and did actually expand the potential audience for his works

by using English texts.32

By the mid 1730s, opera in London was struggling. Handel’s company at Covent Garden

as well as the competing at the King’s Theatre, started in 1733 with the aid

of Frederick, Prince of Wales in opposition to Handel, in the Haymarket fought to attract ever-

dwindling audiences. Recycled favorites, newly composed operas by Handel and others –

nothing was enough to save Handel from imminent financial ruin. Only adding to Handel’s (and

opera’s) woes was the rise in popularity of the written drama, led by such entrepreneurs as Henry

Fielding. After a modicum of success (or at least not complete failure) with , Handel

announced that it would thenceforth be performed every Wednesday and Friday in Lent. Soon

after, operas on Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent were forbidden in Covent Garden. On the brink

of bankruptcy, and given no other alternative, Handel substituted revised versions of two serenatas he had previously written, and Il trionfo del Tempo e della Verità,

31 Anthony Hicks, “Handel and the Idea of and Oratorio,” in The Cambridge Companion to Handel, ed. Donald Burrows (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1997), 154. 32 John Andrews, “Handel all’inglese,” Playbill Arts, (April 4, 2006), www.playbillarts.com/features/article/print/4236.html along with the oratorio Alexander’s Feast. Seriously ill at this point, Handel’s desperate attempt to fill his Lenten program paid off. Covent Garden was once again full.33

After suffering a palsy stroke, Handel took some time off to recover and again returned to

his attempts at opera, still not understanding that it was slowly dying. To add insult to injury, but

a perfect representation of the public’s mindset, is the success of The Dragon of Wantley, a

musical parody similar to The Beggar’s Opera, which ran for sixty-seven performances at

Covent Garden. By 1738, Handel was still in danger of debtor’s prison when offered £1000 by

his former partner Heidegger to write two operas and a pasticcio for the His Majesty’s Theatre.

Faramondo and Serse were soon completed, but neither lasted more than five or six

performances. By June of that same year, Heidegger posted an ad in the Daily Post conceding defeat in the attempts to gain enough money to pay for another year of opera. Performances of

Italian opera were then sporadic in London, and no Handel opera was heard from May 1738-

November 1740. By February of 1741, the composer who had built a life and career on writing almost forty Italian operas was done with the genre forever.34

During this time, however, Handel had not stopped composing. The oratorios Saul and

Israel in Egypt. When presented in early 1739, both received curious but ultimately

disappointing receptions by the public. At this point, Handel continued to complete several

smaller works, none of which were successful, and finally wrote his last opera, . The

nobility remained unmoved and the general public continued to clamor for works of The Dragon of Wantley’s variety. By now, Handel had to be exasperated and fed up with the London scene.

He told at this time that he had no further plans to compose for the rest of the year. Still, when the Lord Lieutenant of , William Cavendish, invited Handel to come to

33 Herbert Weinstock, Handel (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946), 206-10. 34 Ibid. 212-229. for a sojourn, he acquiesced almost immediately. He retired and began composing at an

astounding rate, finishing Messiah in twenty-two days and immediately completing the first part

of Samson two weeks later.35

Handel’s music was already well known in Ireland, and initial performances of Acis and

Galatea, Esther, and L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato met with great admiration. In April of 1742, Handel premiered Messiah, which immediately became a sensation, prompting writings about Handel’s brilliance.36 After this eight-month break, Handel again returned to London,

which must have been a comedown after the adoration he had received in Ireland. On the other

hand, perhaps his journey had been the tonic that Handel needed to renew his spirit and finally

come to terms with the fact that a new chapter of his career could and would be unfolding as the

era of Italian opera now officially came to an end in London (The remaining Haymarket

company finally collapsed in June of 1944).

Upon Handel’s return, he premiered Messiah to moderate acclaim; it was enough to convince him to write Semele that summer, most likely in anticipation of a speedy public release.

Instead, history intervened. The combined English and Hanoverian armies under the command of

Geroge II, defeated the French forces at Dettingen, near Frankfurt. London became abuzz with

the planning for the return of the triumphant king, and a spectacular public celebration. Handel immediately turned to writing and the Anthem. He also composed the

oratorio Joseph and His Brethern by the end of September.

Handel’s manner of composing involved him taking a short period of time to write in

haste but with amazing output that rarely had to be extensively refigured or rewritten. Semele

was written in the time span of one month, from June 3 to July 4 1743. Act I was finished by

35 Ellen Harris, Liner Notes from Semele, English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by John Nelson, 435 782-2, 1993, CD. 36 Handel House Museum informational display June 13, Act II only seven days later on June 20, and the entire work written and revised a mere

two weeks after that.37 This flurry of work over a short period of time was typical of Handel’s creative process throughout his life, but perhaps more surprising due to the fact that Handel had

suffered a minor stroke in spring of 1743.38

Handel began the 1744 Lenten season with the premiere of Semele, which occurred at

Covent Garden on February 10,. From the complete set of original vocal parts housed in the

British Library, it seems that the roles of , the Priest, and Somnus were sung by the same , that the part of was doubled by Jupiter, Ino and Juno were played by the same person, and that the soloists also joined in the choruses.39 Elisabetta du Parc, better known as La

Francesina, took the lead role. Originally recruited from the Continent by Handel’s rival opera

company in 1736, La Francesina sung in Serse as well as and Deidamia but ended her

association with Handel for unknown reasons in 1746.40 The role of Jupiter/Apollo was taken by the great English tenor . Cadmus and the associated parts were played by Henry

Reinhold, with sung by Daniel Sullivan. doubled the roles of Juno and

Ino, and was performed by .41 It appears that Handel may have

redistributed some of the music, so as to make for more equal parts for the performers.

Specifically, Dean mentions that according to Walsh’s score, Avolio sang Ino’s part in the

quartet while Young sang the role of Cadmus. In addition, Avolio also sang Ino’s part in the duet

“Prepare then, ye immortal choir.”42

37 Ellen Harris, Liner Notes from Semele, English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by John Nelson, Deutsche Grammophon 435 782-2, 1993, CD. 38 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 392. 39 Ibid. 396. 40 Handel House Museum information display 41 “Semele,” AmadeusOnline.net, www.amadeusonline.net/almanacco.php: testo: Semele. 42 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 392. Even with Handel’s moderate success with oratorios in the previous seasons and his positive reception in Ireland, there were still segments of society who believed Handel’s oratorios detracted from the success of the remaining opera company and would have been only too happy to see him fail completely. Perhaps in light of the mindset of “court politics and social jealousy”43 it is not surprising that Semele did not fare better. Four performances were given that season. Mary Delany, one of Handel’s most ardent defenders and supporters, and ironically the niece of Lord Middlesex who by this point ran the Haymarket opera company, wrote after the first performance,

I was yesterday to hear Semele; it is a delightful piece of music…There is a four-part song that is delightfully pretty; Francesina is extremely improved, her notes are more distinct, and there is something in her running-divisions that is quite surprising. She was much applauded, and the house full, though not crowded…44

In reference to the worry of some that detractors of Handel’s might cause a scene at the premiere of a new oratorio, especially one with a less-than-Biblical theme, she continued, “There was no disturbance at the play-house, and the Goths were not so very absurd as to declare, in a public manner, their disapprobation of such a composer”45 However, two weeks later, it appears

Semele’s fate was sealed. Although Mrs. Delany once again wrote, “Semele is charming; the more I hear it the better I like it, and as I am a subscriber I shall not fail one night,”46 she next highlighted the two problems that Handel had with his work, the first being the subject matter.

The premiere took place during Lent, a time of self-denial and personal reflection, and the subject was taboo for the British, who liked to publically keep up the façade that morals ruled, even if the private reality was somewhat different. Even the plain-clothed performance could not save people from being shocked and disapproving, or at least giving them a good excuse to

43 Herbert Weinstock, Handel (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946), 256. 44 Otto Erich Deutsch, Handel: A Documentary Biography (New York: Da Capo Press, 1974), 582. 45 Ibid, 582. 46 Ibid, 584. appear so and avoiding Covent Garden. On her husband’s perspective of Semele, Delany wrote,

“…it being a profane story D.D. does not think it proper for him to go.”47 She continued in the same letter, “Semele has a strong party against it, viz., the fine ladies, the petits maitres, and ignoramus’s. All the opera people are enraged at Handel.”48 The King continued his allegiance towards Handel, but it was not enough to save Semele. Handel closed out his Lenten subscription with two performances each of Samson and Saul.

Later that year, he revived Semele on December 8, “with additions and alterations,” some the product of his changed cast and some based on the initial tepid reception. From the original cast, Francesina, Beard, and Reinhold remained, but the rest of the cast was new additions.

Because of these changes, Handel altered several of the keys for the parts of Ino, Athamas, and

Juno. For the role of Ino, he went through and changed some of the melody line to higher pitches in the conducting score, which would later cause some confusion when print editions of the score were being made. Perhaps most interestingly of all, five Italian airs from previously written

Handelian operas (, , and Giustino) were inserted, although the rest of the work remained performed in English.49 These airs were the last pieces of music sung in Italian that

Handel ever used in a performance50, and it is very possible that these pieces were sung by

Italian opera singers who had remained in London, although there is no proof of this being the

case. This could be an attempt by Handel to placate the opera audience, since the Haymarket

venture had since folded and there was thus no opera company remaining in the country, or it

might imply Handel’s attempt to change the focus from the theme of the work to simply the

music, but, as Dean states, “they must have impeded and obscured the story,” and provided little

47 Ibid, 584. 48 Herbert Weinstock, Handel (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946), 256. 49 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 393. 50 Donald Burrows, “Handel’s Oratorio Performances,” in The Cambridge Companion to Handel, ed. Donald Burrows (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 265. in the way of “musical improvement.”51 Handel also gave Ino and Iris each and additional air in

English. Showing that he was sensitive to the original complaints about the sensitive subject,

Handel cut or changed several lines including the words “And more to agitate.”52 Even with

Handel’s attempts at reworking the piece, only two performances were given. Semele never again graced the stage during Handel’s lifetime, and, save for a 1762 revival, would be all but forgotten for the next two centuries.

In some senses it is sort of ironic that the one unique English musical form can be attributed to a man who wasn’t fluent in English. Although he lived in England for close to fifty years and became a naturalized citizen in February of 1726, Handel never achieved a full mastery of the English language, preferring instead to communicate in German, Italian, and even

French whenever possible.53 Because of this imperfect acquaintance with English, there are

sometimes awkward phrasings or syllabic emphases placed on words that a native speaker might

have avoided. He even occasionally insisted that the librettist change the lyrics to accommodate

his music. This is true of “No, no, I’ll take no less” in Semele, which was completely reset after

Handel had written music for it that did not work with the original words.54 At times, however,

Handel’s lack of fluency in English suited his composing style. He was able to use a more

unusual emphasis to enhance the importance of the word within a phrase, which a composer tied

to the traditional use of English may have been more hesitant to do. This is especially evident in

his use of rhythmic emphasis.55 Furthermore, being as English was often avoided as a language

for musical performance, Handel helped bring into the mainstream what was hitherto adroitly

51 Ibid, 393. 52 Ibid, 393. 53 Herbert Weinstock, Handel (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946), 128. 54 John Andrews, “Handel all’inglese,” Playbill Arts, (April 4, 2006), www.playbillarts.com/features/article/print/4236.html 55 John Tobin, Handel at Work (London: Cassell, 1964), 40-1, 49. avoided whenever possible: serious popular vocal music works in English. He wrote of his belief in English as a legitimate showcase for his later works in a letter to The Daily Advertiser in

January 1745.

“As I perceived, that joining good Sense and significant Words to Musick, was the best Method of recommending this to an English Audience; I have directed my Studies that way, and endeavour’d to shew, that the English Language, which is so expressive of the sublimest Sentiments, is the best adapted of any to the full and solemn kind of Musick.”56

This statement is so important because, at the time, Handel was still being attacked by those in the nobility who were not yet willing to admit that Italian opera was nearing the end of its dominance in England. Although he had struggled for years, writing both opera and oratorio for a good amount of time, for so long Handel had refused to see the inevitable truth of the matter, which was that Italian opera ventures in London were unsustainable. Perhaps if either the original Royal Academy or the New Royal Academy under Handel’s tutelage had remained the chief outlet for the genre, there would have eventually been a reconciliation between the financial issues due to lack of money brought in by subscriptions. Instead, a rival company was formed, largely for petty political reasons, as the Prince of Wales was out of sorts with his parents, who were ardent Handel supporters. Into this juncture, Charles Sackville, Lord

Middlesex (and later the Duke of Dorset) stepped. At first, the two competing opera houses were able to contend for audiences by staging a variety of works by different composers, featuring famous Italian singers, and drawing favor from royalty and nobility alike. But over time, it became difficult for two competing opera companies to survive in London. With subscription rates falling and income the sole purpose of these ventures, even attempts to curry favor with patrons and the Prince and Princess of Wales, among others, fell flat. For awhile, depending on what Middlesex’s company presented and how well it was received, Handel would continue to

56 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 64. work on operas. For example, in the 1740-41 season, Middlesex was unable to sustain a

company, and so Handel took advantage of this lack of opera in other London venues to attempt to present his own works, the Italian operas, Imeneo and Deidamia. Still, both flopped, with only five performances given between the two.57 At this point, Handel may have at last seen the inevitable coming. Once committed to writing works in English, he fervently defended his position, which may be surprising to some, considering only a few years before it appeared he would never fully acclimate to a musical season that did not involve Handelian Italian operas.

Handel had a habit of borrowing from other composers, including himself, and a large number of his librettos were recycled and previously used material. Semele is typical of how

Handel would approach a libretto that had already been set. In it, he has amended the subplots, excluded numerous lines while adding a handful, and finally, inserted a few arias with words from a different source.60 He then wrote a completely original setting. Small changes that were

made from the original autograph before the first performance were almost definitely for

pressing logistical matters and not intended for permanent artistic improvement (ie, key

changes).61 After all, Handel was first a performer, almost unrivaled as an organist, and his

instincts were to write for virtuosity even if it could not be realized at the level for which he

hoped. Corelli more than once remarked upon the difficulty of Handel’s music and the inability

of he and other musicians to play especially the with the amount of force and passion

that Handel seemed to demand.62

57 Carole Taylor, “Handel’s Disengagement from the Italian Opera,” in Handel Tercentenary Collection, ed. and Anthony Hicks (Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1987), 165-69. 60 Martin Pearlman, “Program Notes,” Serse (2008-9): 12-3. 61 Anthony Hicks, “Review: Ravishing Semele,” The Musical Times 114, no. 1561 (Mar, 1973), 275. JSTOR. 62 John Mainwaring, Memoirs of the Life of the Late George Frederic Handel (New York: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1980), originally published in London: R. and J. Dodsley, 1760, 56. Nevertheless, even Handel understood that sometimes concessions must be made.

Although he was loath to change his original premise on any terms but his own, he attempted to

take into consideration the skill of his performers. A less virtuosic run was better than a poorly executed but unaltered one, and Handel understood the need to deal with the reality of the talent

of the singers he had at his disposal, much as it might pain him to modify his original vision for this reason. Handel’s initial vision of higher notes and longer runs were thus sometimes sacrificed for the sake of a perfected easier version.63

63 John Tobin, Handel at Work (London: Cassell, 1964), 69. Chapter 3: Semele: Opera or Oratorio?

But the larger question is remains – how does one classify Semele among Handel’s works? Even within the oratorio genre the work is unique and does not readily fall into a preordained category. Mary Delany called it “a delightful piece of music, quite new and different

from anything he has done”64 at the time it was first written. It does not meet the strict standards

of an opera seria (if there even were such a thing in English), but neither does it conform to one

of the main tenets of the oratorio genre, which is a biblical theme.

Delving further into the question, it is known that Congreve’s libretto was already based

upon the “operatic tradition of using .”65 It is true that save for the topic of

subject, Semele might be more readily placed into the strict oratorio category by more scholars.

As it is, though, there are several other reasons the classification of Semele remains so difficult.

Although the language alone would lend itself to a definition of oratorio, the fact is that for all its

modification by Handel, the libretto was based on an English opera. Since English opera never

developed as its own independent genre with strict or even specific tenets, it is difficult to point

to form or the incorporation of arias or the sequence of scenes as any sort of actual proof that

Semele falls into the role of disguised opera. Nevertheless, the approach to setting the libretto

and the tragic nature of the climax, along with the artificial happy resolution seem to attend with

the notion of a traditional opera. The incorporation of choruses should strengthen the case for

oratorios, and indeed, their role is vital and exciting, but on the whole, somewhat smaller than

one might expect. Although there are several more traditional choruses in Semele, overall, there

is not as much participation by the chorus as in earlier oratorios. This, too, is more reminiscent of

an opera and a trend that Handel would continue in his later works (such as and

64 Otto Erich Deutsch, Handel: A Documentary Biography (New York: Da Capo Press, 1974), 579. 65 Stoddard Lincoln, “The First Setting of Congreve’s Semele,” Music & Letters 44, no. 2 (Apr, 1963), 106. JSTOR. ).66 The detail that Semele was not staged is not as significant as one might initially

believe. Bound by the law at the outset, Handel could not originally stage his oratorios. At this

point, he did not want to alienate anyone else from the opera world by presenting what was

originally a staged English opera as a staged English opera. Working within his constraints, staging was not an option for Handel at the time, but the fact that he paid so much attention to stage directions and settings sends the signal that he was very much aware of the importance of the surroundings to the work and, in different circumstances, would probably have enjoyed seeing Semele staged.

One aspect of Semele that clearly defies the notion of opera seria is the fact that Jupiter, the lead male role, is played by a tenor. This would be unheard of in a Handelian opera, where the role would have been sung by a . Although the role of Athamas is written for an alto or , the absence of castrati in the cast as well as the fact that almost all the singers were English puts this part of the classification firmly in the oratorio camp. It is possible Handel intentionally avoided more traditional roles to purposely differentiate Semele from a traditional opera, but cost and availability of singers were certainly foremost in his mind; there was no reason to incorporate Italian singers or traditions. As touched upon earlier, the use of da capo arias, while more numerous than many of Handel’s oratorios, is far from keeping with the strict applications that would apply in opera seria. Finally, although a large group gathers at the end of the show onstage, the main characters not even present. Juno has retreated in her momentary victory, replete with the satisfaction that Semele is disposed of. Jupiter has left for unknown locales after both initiating and perpetrating Semele’s downfall, even if he was manipulated by

Juno whilst doing so. But perhaps the most shocking aspect of the finale is that all does not turn out well for the heroine; in fact she meets a tragic fate. The guidelines of opera seria, while not

66 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 372. as outright farcical as , provide that all ends up well at the end. Even though the final

scene of Semele is celebratory in nature, the fact that the title character has perished sends a blatant message to the audience, as first Congreve, and later Handel very likely meant to do.

Although Semele has just died, the final scene conveys through its festivity that the fate is just and the ending joyful. Such a plot twist would never have occurred in an opera seria. As is evident, while Semele incorporates major facets of both opera as well as oratorio, it is not a strict adherent to either form, instead pulling from both while also obtaining unique status as a

confusing hybrid.

The problem of classification, however, is not a new difficulty. Throughout history, from

before its first official premiere to the modern day, Semele has been called a myriad of different

things by different people at different times. Usually considered under the broad title of oratorio

in regards to classification of Handel’s works, Semele has been called everything from a masque

to outright English opera, a staged drama to a secular oratorio. Charles Jennens remarked that

Semele was “no oratorio but a bawdy opera.”67 It was the only work of Handel’s to which he

refused to subscribe. The Earl of Egmont, present at the second performance referred to the work

in his diary as “the opera of Semele.”68 A review of the 1878 vocal score stated, “For want of a

better term this work may be called a ‘secular oratorio;’ but in truth, save from its length, it

might with more propriety be entitled a ‘serenata.’”69 Dean criticizes the Chrysander edition,

saying “he [Chrysander] willfully miscalls the work an oratorio”70 Dean also points to the fact

that Handel used the da capo form fourteen times in twenty-five airs as proof of “Handel’s

67 Winton Dean, “Music in London – Semele,” The Musical Times 116, no. 1594 (Dec, 1975): 1081-2. JSTOR. 68 W. Barclay Squire, “Handel’s Semele,” The Musical Times 66, no. 984 (Feb, 1925), 137. JSTOR. 69 “Review,” The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular 19, no. 424 (Jun 1878), 338. JSTOR. 70 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 395. consciousness that he was writing opera.”71 A modern-day reviewer refers to the work as “half-

opera, half-oratorio.”72 Another writes, “Semele combines elements of the English lyric stage,

Italian opera, semi-opera and masque.”73 Weinstock says it is “in reality an actionless opera.”74

Percy Young likewise calls it, “not…an oratorio at all but an English opera without action.”75

One favorite term used is that it is a “rapprochement” between opera and oratorio. In many ways it seems silly to argue over the fact of what Semele should be called. Handel himself presented it

“after the manner of an oratorio,” an ambiguous title to be sure. It is commonly, if not always, performed as a staged opera in modern times. So why should semantics matter so much?

The answer is because it mattered so much at the time in terms of Handel’s purpose and intentions. In truth, Handel was a dramatic composer. Ruth Smith proposes that a lot of the content of Handel’s English works, even when not explicitly deemed as a drama, would have seemed dramatic to his eighteenth century audience.76 Thus, it may not be the approach that

Handel took to presenting the story of Semele that was so different from his previous works, but

rather the fact that the subject was not a socially- endorsed Biblical reference, from whence there

could be little controversy. Although it may be anathema to purists of the oratorio form, for want

of a better term in classifying Handel’s work and the original performances, Semele should

probably be referred to as a secular oratorio. What it really is, and what it is performed as today,

however, is an English opera. Handel was constrained from presenting the work as he might

otherwise have chosen, which would have included staging like his original oratorio, Esther, and

71 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 373. 72 Raymond Monelle, “Why did No One Think of This Before? An Innovative Semele at Scottish Opera,” The Independent Feb. 28, 2005, www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=25255. 73 John Jahn, “Semele on the Town,” ExpressMilwaukee.com, February 17, 2009, http://www.expressmilwuakee.com/article-5533-semele-on-the-town.html. 74 Herbert Weinstock, Handel (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946), 256. 75 Percy M. Young, The Oratorios of Handel (New York: Roy Publishers, 1950), 129. 76 Ruth Smith, Handel’s Oratorios and Eighteenth-Century Thought (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1995), 6. effectively created a modern English opera. Due to political, financial, and personal

circumstances, it is not possible to know if Handel would have actually pursued this recourse –

he did not have the option - but he did consider the stage directions vital enough to the plot to

keep them in the libretto. Because the vast majority of the structure of Congreve’s actual libretto

was unchanged, Handel presented what was still fundamentally an opera as an oratorio to the

English public of the era who were ill-prepared to receive such a departure from the usual

manner of subject manner and presentation.

Even though Semele would have been a familiar tale to the audience, Handel was already

in a pseudo-battle with the opera supporters, and Semele’s obvious similarity to an opera while

being in the more accessible English infuriated many in that crowd. Additionally, Handel’s

blatant portrayal, and what some would see as promotion, of a woman with loose morals during

Lent no less, would have alienated other would-be supporters. After building a reputation as

independent, proud, and perhaps a little haughty for the taste of several aristocrats, Handel now

“flew in the face of a gentleman’s preconceived notions of how a man of his station ought to

act…he went further and contradicted their notions on how music ought to sound.”77 It is easy to imagine how a group of well-to-do noblemen could use the perception of the composer becoming too influential as a reason to join in attempts to lessen his power in the musical world by favoring his rival, especially when the rival was one of them. Interestingly, though, as Taylor

points out, their plan ultimately backfired. Handel essentially made the transition from relying on

noble largesse to attempting to put together his own seasons by appealing to a broader public.

Furthermore, the Opera of the Nobility, under Middlesex ultimately failed and thus paved the

77 Carole Taylor, “Handel’s Disengagement from the Italian Opera,” in Handel Tercentenary Collection, ed. Stanley Sadie and Anthony Hicks (Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1987), 169. way for a greater reliance on commercialized patronage rather than more limited aristocratic

benefaction that was the norm at the time.78

The year 1728 was one of the first notable landmarks in the musical realm for bypassing

aristocratic norms because it marked the beginning of the end for Italian opera in England. On

January 29 of that year, and Dr. Samuel Pepusch presented their pasticcio The

Beggar’s Opera, a vulgar comedy with mediocre musical value, at best. Nonetheless, the tunes

were simple, memorable, and most importantly, in English. The libretto referred to current

events in society and government and used the audience’s own everyday language. It did not

attempt to be tasteful or refined in the least, and the general populace did not care; finally a show

was available to them on their own level. The show was a smash success, running for ninety

nights.79 It played to the masses, a concept that Handel forever had trouble embracing. Although

he hated the idea of compromising his musical vision and the style of writing to which he was

accustomed, music was still his career and the sole means by which he earned his living. If his

shows were not profitable, he needed to be able to find some form that was – preferably without straying too far from his artistic vision. Although Handel would eventually come to terms with the death of Italian opera’s popularity in England, it would still be many more years before he fully realized the futility of continuing to write Italian opera and still more before he embraced the new opportunities presented with the rise of the oratorio genre which he would help create and perfect.

78 Ibid, 174. 79 Herbert Weinstock, Handel (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946), 137. Handel was at a crossroads. It was evident that Italian opera was more or less slowly

dying in England, yet his attempts at oratorio had become established, almost by a fluke. Even though Handel had complete reign over creation of the English oratorio, his heart still could not quite resign itself to the fact that opera was truly dead. As Dean puts it, Handel’s actions in the late 1730s and very early before his sojourn to Dublin were “vigorous…multifarious [and above all characterized by an] obstinate reluctance to withdraw from the Italian opera.”82 His

attempts to push the bounds of what constituted a valid performance subject and how and where

such works were performed may not have been his initial thoughts. In the 1738-9 season, he

offered both a collection of odes and oratorios, and then an opera season to follow. But as time

went on, it became more and more apparent that Handel’s career in opera was ending. At this

point, Handel had survived the difficulties of losing his opera company and falling out of favor

with a portion of the public. Like almost anyone in that situation, it is understandable that he may

have been demoralized and lost while trying to figure out the next move in his career. The

collapse of public interest in London for Italian opera was one hurdle that Handel could not

overcome. Still, it appears that he never considered leaving London, even after his warm

reception in Ireland; Germany and Italy, both places of success for the younger Handel, did not

have the lure to make him leave his difficulties in England. He still maintained his role as

London’s “resident composer” which immediately set him apart from any imported talent.83

82 “Handel,” The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (London, 1980), in Carole Taylor, “Handel’s Disengagement from the Italian Opera,” in Handel Tercentenary Collection, ed. Stanley Sadie and Anthony Hicks (Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1987), 165. 83 Carole Taylor, “Handel’s Disengagement from the Italian Opera,” in Handel Tercentenary Collection, ed. Stanley Sadie and Anthony Hicks (Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1987), 174. Handel’s eventual choice was to continue to compose and produce unprofitable Italian operas or

adapt his music into something the public was willing to support. He chose the latter, but not

before grappling with himself over the future of his compositions and career. Realizing at the age

of 55 that the market for the main area of one’s musical expertise has evaporated must have been

a severe blow to Handel’s ego and confidence. This was a man who put his music above

everything else in his life – his family, his home, and now it appeared that his thirty years toiling

and building a reputation may not sustain him in his later years. In addition, his health was failing. In a way, the sojourn to Ireland came at an ideal moment. Handel was able to not only detach himself from the pressures and intrigues of London society, but he removed himself to a place where he once again received support and accolades for his work. With this encouragement and affirmation of his abilities, Handel returned to London ever more determined to make his way, regardless of what new ventures and difficulties lay ahead in the changing London performance scene. It was then that he put aside opera for good and began work on Semele.

Ironically, it was when Handel first came to England that the era of Locke and Purcell

definitively ended. Handel emerged as the greatest composer in the nation and his medium was

Italian opera. Platt notes that “had [Eccles’] Semele taken the stage as planned it might well have

affected the development of opera in England by showing that a native form, quite different from

the Italian, was indeed perfectly viable.”84 Paradoxically, the emerging presence of a true English

opera-like form which had just begun to find its footing in the works of Purcell and Eccles and

Congreve’s never-performed opera was killed by the superb Italian opera which appeared with

Handel.85 Twenty years later, Handel found himself struggling with the fact that opera no longer

84 Richard Platt, ed., Musica Britannica: A National Collection of Music, LXXVI, Semele: An Opera, (London: Stainer and Bell, 2000), xix. 85 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), Winton Dean, 371-2. seemed like a profitable or feasible musical venture, and the one form that seemed to attract

some loyalty from the music-going public was an off-shoot of the very sort of works that

Handel’s Italian operas had replaced. It is ironic to think that, were it not for the untimely death

of Purcell and the introduction of legitimate Italian opera by Handel, the English opera as a form

may have developed as a genuine genre of its own. Further, if Handel had found a way to present

his dramatic oratorios as staged works, the form of oratorio itself could have established the stage for future musical dramatic works in English. Instead, the oratorio was pigeonholed by

posterity and failed to generate any further dramatic opera-type works in English. At this point,

even its creator, Handel, could not change the popularity of the already established oratorio conventions, even though he tried.

After Semele, Handel again attempted a work in a similar vein, being that it was labeled an oratorio and performed as such, but in reality was actually a “musical drama,” as Handel himself termed it. The work is called , and Handel wrote it in July 1744, scarcely a year after he finished Semele and only five months after Semele’s controversial debut in Covent

Garden. The subject, like Semele, derives from a Greek story, in this case Sophocles’s Trachiniæ with additional material taken from Book IX of Ovid’s . It was performed in the beginning of January, 1745 but fared so poorly that Handel was forced to suspend the rest of his season and offer subscribers their money back. Although he later continued his season, Hercules

was replaced and numbers as one of the least-performed works of Handel’s lifetime.86 Handel

never composed another secular oratorio.

86 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), Winton Dean, 429-31. So Semele was, in essence, a prototype of the first English opera to debut in London in

close to three decades, even if it was never ultimately staged. Although it ultimately failed, it was

imminently important to Handel to have tried. At this point, he was still establishing where his

career and talents would take him now that it appeared Italian opera was no longer a viable

endeavor. Unfortunately, history and timing got in the way. Anthony Hicks writes that Handel

must have regarded the oratorio format as one that could support secular subjects as well as

sacred or he would not have attempted to present Semele and Hercules. However, as intent as

Handel was on expanding the oratorio form, he had to realize that what he was doing would meet

with unpopularity among the constituency of his audience who believed “it was only the

‘sacredness’ of oratorio and its potential for religious sublimity that made it acceptable as

theatrical entertainment.”88 In fact, it is mostly likely because of these opposition forces that

Handel realized he could not attempt presenting either Semele or Hercules as an actual English

opera, staged and sung in English. His sacred oratorios were struggling against popular opinion

at times, and Handel needed to continue to make a living. He could not afford to continue

experimenting with the oratorio format and producing unstaged English opera of this manner, for

“the qualities which made Semele were now recognizably not those appropriate to ‘sacred’

oratorio.”89

Perhaps one of the most confusing aspects of Handel’s actions is that, while on the point of bankruptcy and amidst the confusion of opera, his life-long niche ending, Handel was given the opportunity to be paid for writing additional operas. According to a letter of John Christopher

Smith, Handel’s secretary, friend, and copyist, Handel had been offered £1000, more than

88 Anthony Hicks, “Handel and the Idea of and Oratorio,” in The Cambridge Companion to Handel, ed. Donald Burrows (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1997), 159-60. 89 Percy M. Young, The Oratorios of Handel (New York: Roy Publishers, 1950), 132. anyone in the history of the world, to write two new operas for Lord Middlesex’s opera

company, and he turned it down. He immediately composed Semele, which many involved in the opera company took as a personal affront.90 This probably had more to do with Handel’s pride

than any overwhelming desire to produce an English opera. He did not want to forfeit artistic

autonomy to the likes of Middlesex after all that had happened or “risk his reputation”91 by

working with the previously competing opera group, but the results were the same. Handel

turned down his one chance to again compose Italian opera for money and Middlesex performed

Handel’s operas with his own company anyway. He could have been worried about his

reputation in how the opera would be received, if he had finally realized it was a dying genre in

London; additionally, he may also have been irked by the belief that Middlesex’s company had

caused competition for Italian opera which London could not support and had subsequently

driven his own company out of existence. In this case, Handel would certainly not go out of his

way to help the man who was the reason Handel was no longer composing successful Italian

opera. It may have even encouraged him to write on a secular subject, implying a hint of

competition to Middlesex without explicitly breaking from the rules of oratorio which he had

established. Further, it has not gone unnoticed by scholars that Semele could serve as a parable

regarding Handel’s own relationship with Middlesex at this time, with the upstart opera company

reaching too high and in the end being ruined by reigning and innate master, Handel.92 In any case, it was a calculated risk, which Smith noted in his letter, “How the Quality will take it that

90 David Ross Hurley, Handel’s Muse: Patterns of Creation in his Oratorios and Musical Dramas, 1743-1751 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 4. 91 Carole Taylor, “Handel’s Disengagement from the Italian Opera,” in Handel Tercentenary Collection, ed. Stanley Sadie and Anthony Hicks (Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1987), 172. 92 Ellen Harris, Liner Notes from Semele, English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by John Nelson, Deutsche Grammophon 435 782-2, 1993, CD. He can compose for Himself and not for them when they offered Him more than ever He had in

His life, I am not a judge.”93

Nevertheless, it appears that by this point, Handel had become firmly entrenched in the

notion of controlling his own ideas and destiny in the musical realm. Although many still

disapproved of Handel’s foray into oratorio as direct competition to Middlesex’s opera, he was

slowly gaining back support from the public. A writer for Faulkner’s Dublin Journal observed in

March 1743 that

“Our Friend Mr. Handell is very well, and Things have taken a quite different Turn here from what they did some Time past. The Publick will be no longer imposed on by Italian Singers and some wrong Headed Undertakers of bad Opera’s and find out the Merit of Mr. Handell’s Composition and English Performances.” 94

Of course, Handel still was the target of those who saw him as betraying his operatic roots for a

new-fangled form based in English, which would not have pleased the haute ton, as it appealed

directly to the masses and general public. With the ultimate closing of the Opera of the Nobility

for good in 1744, Handel stepped into the dearth of programming, only to have his works be

rejected by those who did not wish for English oratorio to fill the gap that Italian opera had left

behind. Still, Handel never wavered to popular demand and continued to write the music that he

saw fit, the works in English whose time had come to be expressed. Once Handel eventually

accepted the futility of continuing to work on Italian opera in such an environment, he made the

decision, after retrospection and a physical break travelling to Ireland, to continue writing music,

albeit in a new form. He officially embraced the idea of the oratorio and works in English and never again apologized for it or attempted to revert to his previous opera stylings.

It is possible that Handel was making an attempt to blend English choral music with

Italianate dramatic music in a form that would be less shocking to the conservative English

93 Ibid, 172. 94 Carole Taylor, “Handel’s Disengagement from the Italian Opera,” in Handel Tercentenary Collection, ed. Stanley Sadie and Anthony Hicks (Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1987), 171. audience of the day and perhaps draw from both the Handel backers who had followed his recent

venture into oratorio as well as the supporters of opera.95 It was no secret that the English,

although they had embraced the Italian form of opera with the arrival of Handel, still took every

chance to promote negative Italian stereotypes against their Continental counterparts. Opera was

used to show how effete, devoid of morals, decadent, and nonsensical the Italians were compared with strong, traditional, moralistic, God-fearing British.96 The English clearly enjoyed the form

and story aspects of opera, but as reaction to The Beggar’s Opera showed, putting these

characteristics into a work performed in the English language could only increase demand.

95 Ibid, 172. 96 John Andrews, “Sex, Drugs and Baroque Opera,” Playbill Arts (2006), www.playbillarts.com/features/article/print/5126.html.

Chapter 4: Origins of Story and Libretto

Greek myths were popular and well known among the learned class of the day. The story

of Semele appears to have been very fashionable with early 18th-century librettists especially.

The original account is found in the third book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, completed around 1

A.C.E.; the playwright later dramatized portions of Ovid’s works in .

These Greek legends were highly regarded in various “vernacular printings from the Renaissance through the Enlightenment.”97 Newspaper accounts of the era show that at least one compilation

of Greek myths was printed in early 1740, including the story of “Jupiter and Semele” among the

sixty tales. Touted as “being a necessary Companion to the Theatre,” the volume was called The

Temple of the ; or, the principal Histories of Fabulous Antiquity.98 Yet it appears that most

members of the audiences of those days would already be intimately familiar with these classical

myths and, indeed, as in the case of Semele, these ancient stories would be used as allegories,

drawing parallels between the actual characters and real people and events of the time.99 The musical-going audience of this time was perhaps more politically astute than its counterpart in any other era of English history. In addition to literature, musical drama was “the period’s preeminent theatrical vehicle for critical or subversive political innuendo,”100 and the suggestive

meaning behind the story and alternative interpretations would not be lost on the astute audience

of this day and age.

97 Christopher Mossey. “Gods or Monsters? Juilliard Opera Workshop Presents Semele.” Juilliard Journal Online XVII, no. 5, (Feb. 2002). http://www.julliard.edu/update/journal/149journal_story.asp. 98 “The Temple of the Muses,” London Daily Post and General Advertiser, March 27, 1740, Iss. 1692. 99 John Andrews, “Sex, Drugs and Baroque Opera,” Playbill Arts (2006), www.playbillarts.com/features/article/print/5126.html. 100 Ruth Smith, Handel’s Oratorios and Eighteenth-Century Thought (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1995), 188. Also of note is the popularity of Semele as a theme for paintings and artwork of the era.

One exhibit featuring this subject took place in the spring of 1767 in Spring Gardens. A main attraction was a full-sized painting in the Exhibition Room of Jupiter and Semele painted by

Benjamin West; unfortunately, the painting was later lost at sea, but the critics of the time raved

about the ability of West to capture Semele’s “mixture of desire, surprise, and fear.”101 Another

exhibition, this one at the Royal Academy in Pall-Mall in 1774 featured a painting by John

Foldstone, again entitled “Jupiter and Semele.” This time, the nature of the subject matter and the

fact that “he is drawn with a much milder aspect, and she in a more secure situation” made at

least one reviewer conclude, “this is a very indecent picture, and ought not to be presented to the

eyes of any modest woman,”102 perfectly illustrating the overarching sensitivity to propriety that

ruled society. Obviously the sad tale of Semele was not only popular and familiar to the learned

of the time but also a fairly common, or at least not unusual, theme for music, artwork, literature,

and poetry and mentioned similarly throughout other writings. Yet at the same time, it straddled

the line between being an acceptable Classical tale and an advertisement that could introduce

sheltered, vulnerable young ladies to unseemly ideas. From the fifteen books of Metamorphoses, filled with diverse tales of Greek myths, dozens of full-length operas were written. In addition, other, shorter, works were created, including several involving the narrative of Semele.

Elisabeth Claude Jacquet de la Guerre had a book of secular cantates françaises

published circa 1715, one of which was called Semelé. The text de la Guerre sets is also taken

from the account of Semele by Euripides in The Bacchae as well as Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and

follows the general plot of Semele, persuaded by Juno to bid her lover Jupiter visit her in his true

101 “The Works of Our Painters,” Public Advertiser, May 1, 1767, Iss. 10140. 102 “Remarks on the Pictures in the Exhibition of the Royal Academy in Pall-Mall,” London Chronical or Universal Evening Post, April 30, 1774, Iss. 2714. form, to her death by lightning and her unborn child raised by ,103 but she molds and

interprets the story for a unique setting. De la Guerre emphasized in her introduction that she

ardently tried to convey the meaning of the text in her music. The setting consists of a

Simphonie, Prelude, three recitatives, and three airs, performed by a single voice with solo violin

and continuo accompaniment. De la Guerre’s Semelé was published in a collection of three

cantatas, all dealing with Greek myths. The vocalist performs as narrator for the first recitative

and final air, but becomes Semele during the rest of the performance.

Another cantate française based on the story of Semele was written by André Cardinal

Destouches in 1719 from lyrics by A.H. Lamotte. It is for solo high voice, violin, , bassoon,

and continuo and consists of three recitatives and three airs.104 His fellow countryman, Marin

Marais had previously completed an opera also called Semélé, which was staged in April of

1709. In the guise of Lully, Marias’s four operas are in the tragédies en musique style. Perhaps

because of his unwillingness to embrace the new opéras-ballets, Semélé was an abject failure,

and Marais subsequently withdrew from public life.105

Other reports on works based on the story of Semele contain less readily-verifiable accounts but still show the pervasiveness of the subject during the high Baroque period. For instance, on December 6, 1721, the Daily Post of London published an account from November

25 in Madrid referring to the fact that the king went to the Theatre of the Palace that evening and saw a performance of “the opera called Semele embraced.”106 This unknown opera apparently

had enough credence to be performed for the King of Spain, even if its origins and score have

103 Adrian Rose, “Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre and the Secular cantate françoise,” Early Music 13, no. 4 (Nov. 1985): 529-541, JSTOR online. 104 David Tunley, Ed. The Eighteenth-Century French Cantata, Vol. 11 (New York, Garland Publishing, Inc., 1990), xii, 161. 105 Jérôme de La Gorce and Sylvette Milliot, "Marais, Marin," in Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ezproxy.library.tufts.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/17702. 106 “Yesterday Arrived Three Mails from Flanders,” Daily Post, December 6, 1721, Iss. 682. been lost to history. According to a search of the term “Semele” in the database of musical works

in the British Library’s Rare Books and Music Collection, the subject of Semele has been used as a basis for at least a half-dozen further works, many of which are written by obscure authors and composers or have disappeared. Among these works are included ’s lost opera, Jupiter and Semele from 1713.107 Johann Hasse also wrote a two-part serenata in 1726 while he lived in Naples entitled La Semele, o sia La richiesta fatale. Although little is known about this serenata, again Hasse was a German contemporary of Handel who also employed this theme for a work.108 In addition to these musical works, the playwright Claude Boyer wrote a

tragedy entitled “Les Amours de Iupiter et de Semele,” first performed in 1666.

The William Congreve libretto is by far the most extensive telling of the Semele story,

however. This setting of Semele, with libretto by Congreve and music written by notable English

composer , was “the only attempt by an English composer to produce a completely

sung opera in English during [the] transition period of the first five years of Italian opera in

England.”110 When Congreve starting writing the libretto in 1705, it was intended to be used for

the opening of the new Queen’s Theatre in the Haymarket. The competing Theatre Royal, Drury

Lane, however, had introduced Italian opera to the London stage in the meantime. By the time

Eccles, good friend of Congreve, completed the music for the opera in November or December

of 1706, the Lord Chamberlain had given exclusive rights for the performance of opera to the

Drury Lane company. At this point, Eccles and Congreve consented to have their work produced

at Drury Lane later in the 1706-7 season, but the opera was tabled by the management in favor of

107 Jeanne Swack, “Telemann Research Since 1975,” Acta Musicologica 64, no. 2 (Jul -Dec 1992), 158, JSTOR. 108 Sven Hansell, “Johann Adolf Hasse,” Grove Music Online, www.oxfordmusiconline.com. 110 Stoddard Lincoln, “The First Setting of Congreve’s Semele,” Music & Letters 44, no. 2 (Apr, 1963), 104. JSTOR. other works and never actually performed.111 Had it been, Mossey declares, “it would have been

a major advance in the trend toward through-composed English opera.”112

Congreve published the libretto, called by Brian Trowell “probably the finest libretto in

our language,”113 as a poem in a 1710 edition of his works. Handel then used Congreve’s libretto

as the basis of his own work, making only small cuts as befit his design. Congreve himself

apparently loosely based his libretto on Thomas Shadwell’s earlier version written for the semi- opera Psyche, set to music by Matthew Locke. This work written in 1675 had a plot based on the

1671 tragedie-ballet named Psyche by Moliere, Corneille, Quinault and Lully. Shadwell and

Locke’s work further served as an example for which Purcell based his semi-operas, and before the completion of Eccles and Congreve’s Semele, was the closest thing to a full-length, completely sung opera in English that had been written.114 Congreve and Handel’s Semele bears a close resemblance to Purcell’s Dido and Aenaes as well; both in the similar subject material of

a woman attempting to find love, only to be manipulated by a jealous other-worldly being and

have her lover acquiesce to her demands in what turns out to be a destructive manner; as well as

the fact that the original story was written in Latin by Virgil around 19 B.C.E,115 whereas Ovid,

also a Roman poet, wrote his Metamorphoses only twenty years later in 1 A.C.E.

Jon makes a case for Congreve’s borrowing of other authors in his adaptation of

Ovid. He insists that confusion in the plot (which other scholars dispute) is brought about

because of the variety of sources Congreve employed. While it is obvious that Congreve

expanded upon the original eight stanzas, much of his borrowing occurred from other places in

111 “Production History - Semele,” , http://www.pinchgutopera.com.au/productions/?IntCatId=3&IntContID=119&IntContContId=47. 112 Christopher Mossey “Gods or Monsters? Juilliard Opera Workshop Presents Semele.” Juilliard Journal Online XVII, no. 5, (Feb. 2002). http://www.julliard.edu/update/journal/149journal_story.asp.. 113 “Congreve and the 1744 Semele libretto,” The Musical Times 111, no.1532 (Oct 1970), 993, JSTOR. 114 Todd S. Gilman, “London Theatre Music 1660-1719,” in A Companion to Restoration Drama, ed. Susan J. Owen (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2001), 258-9. 115 “The Aeneid,” The Internet Classics Archive, http://classics.mit.edu/Virgil/aeneid.html. Ovid, and, as Hicks points out, it is very possible that such a learned writer as Congreve called

on his own schooling and knowledge of the Greek myths when filling in details, instead of

combing sources for possible plot additives.116 Other scenes, such as Juno’s bribe of to

Somnus, may have their origins in the . Again, Congreve’s acquaintance with the work is to

almost be expected and combining different elements of plot and stories with the same or similar

characters would not be inconsistent with a librettist’s method. Solomon’s problem with

Semele’s introduced hubris in the mirror scene (exaggerated by Handel’s adaptation) has little to

do with the possibility that Congreve invented a new reaction and way to play the scene, and

more to do with the fact that Solomon does not understand why the ancient source was not

followed more explicitly. To these ends, he proposes that Congreve obtained the idea of the

mirror scene from the story of Narcissus which occurs in short proximity following Semele’s tale

in Ovid.117 Whether these are indeed the sources for the supplementary material Congreve used

to build upon the initial Ovid lines, or whether he gleaned his information from other sources or

his classical literature background, is a perhaps interesting question, but in the overall scheme of importance as far as the libretto goes, it matters very little.

In the introduction to the published poem, Congreve addresses two key issues, one in reference to sources for the plot, and the other regarding form in the recitatives, both of which become concerns in Handel’s adaptation. Congreve begs understanding in regards to his decision to substitute Juno appearing to Semele in the guise of Ino, her sister who is already part of the story, versus Ovid’s original story which had Juno coming to Semele as her nurse Beroe, a role that was not otherwise included in the narrative. This change actually makes the story flow more

116 Anthony Hicks, “Semele’s Mirror and Polypemus’s Whistle,” Music & Letters 65, no 2 (Apr, 1984), 213. JSTOR. 117 Jon Solomon, “Reflections of Ovid in Semele’s Mirror,” Music & Letters 63, no. 3/4 (Jul-Oct 1982): 226-41. JSTOR. smoothly, as the audience is not burdened with a character of which they know very little performing a vital role when instead a familiar and dearly loved sister is used as a plausible guise by Juno to tempt Semele.

The other issue Congreve tackles is the decision to not write the recitative lines in rhyme.

Congreve refers to recitative style as “tuneable speaking” or “a kind of prose in music,” and

believes in keeping his approach as natural as possible.118 However, Congreve sometimes did

write his recitative in a rhyming style, which is important because Handel took several of those

lyrics and converted the recitatives into climactic airs (such as in “Ah, whither is she gone”) or

duets (“Daughter, obey”), thus changing style without changing the original libretto. In fact, as

Trowell points out, Handel’s “arranger made chorus material out of lines Congreve had written

for soloists, and vice versa.”119 Handel was actually quite fortunate in the libretto he chose to

adapt. Although earlier English works, such as Blow’s did not have clearly delineated differences between aria and recitative, Eccles had “seriously studied Italian music and consciously adapted his old style”120 so that there were distinct recitatives and arias outlined

in the libretto. Although Handel took artistic license and changed some of these, the essential

format was already present for areas in which he chose to take advantage of it.

Ovid begins the story when Semele is already pregnant with Jupiter’s child and Juno

becomes enraged; Congreve, though, started with the supposed wedding scene between Semele

and Athamas, before Jupiter comes to sweep Semele away. Still, one of the most appealing

things about the libretto is the fact that Congreve “preserved so much of the essential Greek

118 William Congreve. “Argument Introductory to the Opera of Semele,” in Musica Britannica: A National Collection of Music, LXXVI, Semele: An Opera , ed. Richard Platt (London: Stainer and Bell, 2000): xl-xli. 119 Brian Trowell, “Congreve and the 1744 Semele libretto.” The Musical Times 111, no.1532 (Oct 1970) JSTOR, 993. 120 Stoddard Lincoln, “The First Setting of Congreve’s Semele,” Music & Letters 44, no. 2 (Apr, 1963), 105. JSTOR. quality of Semele.”121 He was able to capture the fundamental story and engage the audience in

the drama without getting so caught up in sophistication and overlaying themes. Nevertheless, as

Congreve “exploits the core traits of both the human and immortal characters to achieve

considerable dramatic development,”122 the characters and their very human emotions and

actions are extremely relatable, even when the drama occurs amongst the gods in a heavenly

plane.

The plot warns of the dangers of ambition or the attainment to something beyond one’s ken. Handel balances the number of gods and humans in the cast, especially bringing to the

forefront the emphasis of human frailty, emotions, and transformation. Mossey writes that “a

common narrative found in baroque literature is that of humans struggling against fate to

dominate their inconsistent world.” 123 Certainly this is true in the case of the title character,

Semele. In love with the god Jupiter, Semele cannot abide the fact that she is mortal and liable to

the pains of jealousy, abandonment, and doubt. In addition, she is worried that her happiness will

not last, as she does not have immortality and must contend with human suffering. Conversely,

while the gods may be feared by the mortals simply due to their stature, the narrative clearly

implies that they are by no means morally superior or even capable of understanding wants and

needs better than their human counterparts, save their expression of their desires manifested in power. In comparison with most Italian opera, the plot is fairly straightforward and easy to understand.124

121 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 370. 122 Christopher Mossey.“Gods or Monsters? Juilliard Opera Workshop Presents Semele.” Juilliard Journal Online XVII, no. 5, (Feb. 2002). http://www.julliard.edu/update/journal/149journal_story.asp. 123 Ibid. 124 Richard Platt, ed., Musica Britannica: A National Collection of Music, LXXVI, Semele: An Opera, (London: Stainer and Bell, 2000), xix. In Act I, Cadmus, the King of Thebes, is found in the temple of Juno, along with his

daughters Ino and Semele, who is preparing to be wed to Athamas, a prince. Cadmus and

Athamas can both tell that Semele is reluctant to proceed. Semele, indeed, is in love with Jupiter

and thus prays to him to prevent the marriage as she delays and laments. Meanwhile, Ino reveals

that she is secretly in love with Athamas, but none of the others comprehend her distress.

Thunder is heard and fire on the altar extinguished as the priests advise everyone to flee the

temple. Ino, who stayed behind attempts to tell Athamas, who also remained, how she feels, but

he misconstrues her meaning. Cadmus re-enters the temple to relate how Semele was carried off

by Jupiter in the form of a purple eagle. The priests and augurs see this as a divine sign and then

join in triumphant singing, predicting “Endless pleasure, endless love, Semele enjoys above!”

Act II opens with Jupiter’s jealous wife, Juno, learning from her handmaiden, Iris, that

Jupiter has built Semele a palace. Juno swears vengeance on Semele, and Iris warns of the

dragons that protect Semele’s palace. Juno then makes plans to visit Somnus, the god of sleep, to

seek his assistance in sealing the “wakeful dragons.” The scene then switches to Semele in her

palace, as Jupiter joins her, and they sing of their love. Semele, however, realizes that when

Jupiter is not with her, she is lonely, sad, and uncertain. She believes the pangs which keep her from complete happiness would vanish if Jupiter makes her immortal. Jupiter, however, cannot upset the balance of power amongst the gods, and distracts Semele from her brooding by producing her sister, Ino. Ino arrives and tells Semele of her journey. The sisters embrace and sing of the joys of music.

At the beginning of Act III, Juno, accompanied by Iris, visited Somnus in his cave. At first, he is reluctant to be woken from his slumber, but Juno tempts him with the mention of his favorite , Pasithea, to rouse him. Juno then procures a deal to put the dragon sentinels to sleep and visit Semele in her palace disguised as her sister Ino. Somnus also is to manipulate

Jupiter’s dream by sending him a vision that will arouse him and make him susceptible to any

request Semele might make. Semele is still restless. Juno (as Ino) then convinces Semele that she

is astonishingly beautiful by continually praising her image in a mirror. Juno tells Semele to refuse Jupiter’s advances until he grants her an unrestricted request. Juno further plays upon

Semele’s vanity and hopes for immortality by coaching her to insist to Jupiter that he appear in his immortal form, thus automatically converting her to a god, as well. Semele is naïve to the fact that this action would actually kill her, and thus succeeds in convincing an enamored Jupiter to grant her one wish which he cannot refuse. He does so, and she reveals her request that he appear to her in devoid of his human form. Although he warns her of the consequences, she will not listen. Bound by his promise, Jupiter laments, and then descends in his fiery, stormy cloud, unable to avoid destroying Semele. The story ends with back in Thebes with Cadmus and

Athamas witnessing the storm and Ino, via the messenger god, relaying Semele’s demise and Jupiter’s decree that she and Athamas should get married, which he quickly consents to.

Apollo appears to declare that Bacchus, the unborn child of Semele and Jupiter, will rise from

Semele’s ashes and release humanity from the sorrows of love. 125, 126

It is very possible that Handel’s interest in Congreve and his librettos was first

peaked after hearing another Congreve libretto, The Judgement of , set by young theatre composer , which premiered at Drury Lane in 1740. Handel likely began to ponder the possibility of also setting a similar text.127 No matter how the work first came to his attention,

125 Christopher Mossey “Gods or Monsters? Juilliard Opera Workshop Presents Semele.” Juilliard Journal Online XVII, no. 5, (Feb. 2002). http://www.julliard.edu/update/journal/149journal_story.asp. 126 “Synopsis of Semele,” The Florentine Opera Company, www.florentineopera.org/2008- 2009_season/semele/semele_synopsis.html. 127 , “The Secular Oratorios and Cantatas,” in Handel: A Symposium, ed. Gerald Abraham (London: Oxford University Press, 1954), 143. Handel adapted Congreve’s libretto for his own use, very possibly aided by his sometime-

librettist, Newburgh Hamilton.128 The assertion that Hamilton was Handel’s librettist for Semele

comes mainly from the fact that similar techniques were used in preparing Samson, on which

Hamilton is known to have worked. There are several minor reasons, however, why Hamilton

could not have been Handel’s collaborator, if, indeed, he had one. Owing to the fact that Samson

was completed just before Semele, it is probable that the technique used on Samson, that is

“fill[ing] out a libretto with verses from minor poems by the same author”129 could have been

employed as an original idea by two different people, or, Handel’s librettist for Semele could have examined Samson and decided to use the same technique. Further, Handel could have done this himself without the assistance of an arranger. In addition, the signatures on the manuscript

librettos that were submitted to the Inspector of Stage Plays show that the MS signature on the

two librettos is not a match. Now, it is still true that Newburgh Hamilton remains the most likely candidate for the job, but unless and until new information comes to light, he is still only a possibility, with no real proof to substantiate the claim.130

Handel needed more parts for his chorus and stated musical interaction at the end of Act

II. To these ends, several solo lines were made into chorus parts and Scene 4 of Act II in which

Semele and Ino meet in her palace, was added utilizing material previously written by Congreve.

In fact, the vast majority of the additions Handel added came from other writings in Congreve’s

collected book of Works. Of the twelve major textual changes in the libretto, only three of them

do not come from Congreve. These are the “Wher’er You Walk” aria at the very end of Act II,

Scene 3, the most popular and often performed piece from Semele, taken from Alexander Pope’s

second pastoral; Athamas’s final aria “Despair No More Shall Wound Me” from Act III, Scene

128 Winton Dean. Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 366. 129 Anthony Hicks, “Semele Libretto,” The Musical Times 11, no. 1534 (Dec, 1970), 1219. JSTOR. 130 Ibid. 1219. 8; and the final chorus, “Happy, Happy Shall We Be,” most obviously changed as to not offend

the sensibilities of an audience who would already have a lot to contemplate in Handel’s new

work.131 Other additions, taken from Congreve, include the air “The morning lark,” four new

choruses, and a simplification of Semele’s “My racking thoughts.”132

Handel did, however, make one crucial change to the plot: he shortened the scene in

which Semele sings “Myself I shall adore,” leaving out Juno’s ardent persuasions of a more hesitant Semele. This has led some to question why an otherwise prudent Semele would

suddenly become such a vain fool, easily turned by a simple compliment and adding to the notion that Semele is largely to blame for her ruthless pursuit of power. In Congreve’s original libretto, it is more understandable that Semele is gradually caught up in Juno’s continued flatteries. In fact, in an alternative description, Semele can be read as a sympathetic character who, following her heart, is caught up in a world she was ill-prepared to face. Shut-up and brooding alone in her castle, cut off from anything or one she’s known, she has time to ponder the realities of her situation. While she still loves and wants Jupiter, doubt has begun to creep

into her mind about her place in his life when he is not there. Juno plays upon these misgivings

and fears brilliantly and convinces Semele to act upon the idea that becoming immortal will both

release her from her sorrows and jealousy, as well as tie her inextricably to Jupiter forever. On the other hand, as we shall see in the next chapter, Handel’s emendation in this scene reveals an important shift in the morality of early eighteenth-centuy London society, whereby the vanity, foolishness, and ambition of Semele contributes to her downfall.

Other cuts that Handel made include shortening Act III, Scene I by eliminating an

Iris/Juno duet; he then transformed what was originally a recitative in Congreve into a better duet

131 Brian Trowell, “Congreve and the 1744 Semele libretto.” The Musical Times 111, no.1532 (Oct 1970) JSTOR. 993-4. 132 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 369. for the pair, replacing an anti-climatic air for Juno. Handel also cut the presence of Cupid in Act

II. In total, Handel cut over one hundred lines, but attempted to remain true to the majority of

Congreve’s stage directions and settings.133

The majority of these cuts is necessary for the betterment of the plot and serves to move

the story along. Furthermore, it appears that many of them were instituted after Handel had

already begun composing the music. The work is still over three hours in its original format,

even with the cuts, largely because Handel, in his usual fashion, added da capo arias and filled in

scenes, slowing down the action from the more briskly-paced Eccles version.134 The fact that

several differing versions exist today is mainly because subsequent airs have been added or

deleted or competing scores are used in different performances. The best thing Handel did was to

largely preserve Congreve’s libretto, which provides such a great palette for character. Handel

astutely embraced the idiosyncrasies of each player and provided them with a medium, via

music, to better express the sentiment already inherent in the text. Semele, for its subject matter,

neither turns tedious nor does one get the sense that Handel made it into a joke, mocking the

intense emotions that lead to colossal actions throughout the story. Instead, the motives of the

characters are understandable and relevant, even if the setting is mystical and remote. In the cast

of gods, Juno wastes no time lamenting her fate; she recognizes her jealousy for what it is and

spends her time plotting ways to defeat her perceived problem. Strong, and cunning, she dictates

control of the scenes she appears in. Jupiter, the supposedly all-powerful god instead appears

rash and obtuse. Occupied at first with seduction, he then loses acute interest and simply

attempts to smooth things over the best he can, which only leads to further disaster. Iris is the

ideal of a faithful servant, and Apollo serves his purpose well enough. Somnus, however, brings

133 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 368-9. 134 Richard Platt, ed., Musica Britannica: A National Collection of Music, LXXVI, Semele: An Opera, (London: Stainer and Bell, 2000), xix. real humor to his scenes in his single-minded obsession with sleep except when he is tempted by

love.135

Semele is the human character of which one sees and understands the most. Her initial

heartfelt longings make her a sympathetic character, but she is unusual in the guise of a heroine.

Her single focus seems to be herself and her love, an innocent pastime. Because there are no

indications that she is foolhardy or vain, her ability to be easily lead by Juno into narcissism

brings a bit of disbelief, but that has more to do with Handel’s poor adaptation of Congreve’s

more detailed scene. Still, it is easy to understand why an already biased negative interpretation of Semele could turn into affront at her actions when placed in the context of the mores of mid-

18th century society. In the end, Semele demands what is important to her, and resignedly accepts

her fate when she realizes her fatal mistake. The breadth of emotion is so akin to an actual

person, and Handel’s music only serves to further the connection. The other humans are not

nearly as developed, however. Cadmus plays his role as father and ruler as one would expect.

Neither the characters of Athamas or Ino have much in the way of a distinct personality. Ino is

easy to sympathize with in her unrequited love and obedient sisterly care, but Athamas appears

to generally go along with whatever fate presents him. Finally, the chorus provides perspective in

the role of citizens and priests in the first and third acts, and they become Semele’s distraction

via Jupiter’s plans as nymphs, zephyrs, and the like in Act II. All throughout, the chorus is a

welcome presence in their superb musical pieces. As Dean sums up, “Thus for all its tragic

content there remains something idyllic about Semele….it combines emotional intensity with a

proportion and a humor that never corrode the poetry.”136

135 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 372. 136 Ibid. 370, 372. Chapter 5: Semele as Social and Political Commentary

Handel’s use of an English libretto to present what was originally an English opera as a oratorio, a new form in itself, is not the only unusual aspect of Semele. The subject itself was seen as unfit by many, not just because it did not revolve around a sacred theme. Instead, the excesses and explicit renderings of Semele reveling in her affair proved to be too much for many in London society. Using a Greek tragedy to teach a public lesson was acceptable, but if the lesson was “too shocking,”139 the myths were easy to dismiss. Like Greek dramas, Handel

reestablished the importance of the chorus, the role of the aware but generally unentangled

public commenting on the action, an explicit representation of what he as a composer and other writers and artists of the time often used their craft to do.

References to Semele and her tragic fate or foolishness are to be found throughout accounts from the era in the form of correspondence, newspapers articles, and poems. It appears to be most often referenced as warnings to certain women who in the eyes of others have perhaps have let their vanity and pride develop too much.140 “Eighteenth-century Anglican teaching

stressed good works more than faith”141 leading to the notion that actions and choices to make a

profound difference in the outcome of one’s life. The key, then, to the power of epic is that the character must have a hand in his or her own fate. The parable only translates if the action is not preordained by an uncontrollable force.

139 Ruth Smith, Handel’s Oratorios and Eighteenth-Century Thought (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1995), 58. 140 Collected newspaper articles from the database, The British Library, London. 141 Ruth Smith, Handel’s Oratorios and Eighteenth-Century Thought (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1995), 141. Semele was used, then, in the popular culture of the day as a ready reference for women

who may have notions of grandeur which others thought mistaken. But what was the political

climate like? Did the tale of Semele apply to political intrigue and machinations among the rich

and powerful? Although in many ways English society had strict constraints on appropriate and

proper behavior, there was a largely unregulated freedom of the press which writers, high-

minded and low-brow alike, used to promote their ideas on politics, society, entertainment, news,

and life. Especially prominent in this populist notion of the permittance of free thought was the

ability that the English had, unlike many of their Continental brethren at the time, to criticize

their leaders and make their political views known, even while living under a monarchy. Still, the

direct attack of the king or queen or other people of considerable power was considered both

crude as well as uninspired. Instead, as John Andrews tells it, “one of the most vivid ways in which political satire was employed was through the thin veil of classical myth.”142 The

audiences more often than not would be intimately familiar with the story, and parallels between

certain mythical characters and current political figures and events could easily be drawn.

At the time the libretto was written, the question of the English royal succession was still a very real source of tension and possible violence. Recent laws had established the dominance of the Protestant Hanovers in the royal line, but the Catholic Stuarts, who had been forcibly

removed from power in 1689 still had a large following in the country, among both other

Catholics as well as those who felt that the “divine right of kings” could not be mandated by an

earthly Parliament. Moreover, Queen Anne was sickly with no Protestant heir apparent. The

possibility of a revolution upon her death to place her Catholic brother, James II on the throne,

likely bolstered by the French, was very real. In Congreve’s libretto, Semele can be seen as an

142 John Andrews, “Sex, Drugs and Baroque Opera,” Playbill Arts (2006), www.playbillarts.com/features/article/print/5126.html. allegory for England. Congreve’s portrayal of the stodgy, but legitimate choice of Athamas as

husband for Semele contrasts wildly with Jupiter, the emotional but perilous prospect. The fate of Semele makes it clear which outcome Congreve favored.143

By the time Handel adopted the original Congreve libretto, the fate of the monarchy and

the country were very different. The German Hanoverians were firmly in control of the English

throne. George II, the current king, had begun an affair with a fellow Hanoverian, Amalie von

Wallmoden in 1735. Upon Queen Caroline’s death two years later, Wallmoden moved to

England and was granted the title Countess of Yarmouth, along with an annual stipend of £4000.

Along she took awhile to find her bearings in a new land, the Countess soon began exploiting her

personal influence for political power, perhaps influencing peerage creations and the downfall of

Prime Minister Robert Walpole. It is easy to see Handel, who was extremely fond of Queen

Caroline and likely did not approve of George II flaunting his mistress before her death or her

apparent usurpation of the Queen’s position after the fact, using Semele as a metaphor for the

Countess. A similar allegory is used in a 1771 editorial by “An Old Whig” regarding the

rumored marriage of Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland, and George III’s younger brother to a

widowed commoner. “The Wag Jupiter is not pretended to have past [sic] off his , his

Leda, his Semele, his Danae, upon his Royal Family as Wives, and why should we suppose the

Royal Masquerader intends to introduce his wanton, or Irish Companion, in the serious Character

of a Wife.”144 Once again, the allusion to Semele as an aspirant who has no business attempting to makes demands of Jupiter is used as framing reference for the reality of Anne Horton’s situation in marrying the prince.

143 John Andrews, “Sex, Drugs and Baroque Opera,” Playbill Arts (2006), www.playbillarts.com/features/article/print/5126.html. 144 “To the Publisher,” St. James’s Chronicle, December 26, 1771, Iss. 1692. The era in which (male) monarchs were assumed to have mistresses as signs of their

virility and prowess was being called into question. The original issue of having royal mistresses

wield undue influence was being re-examined. Although Queen Caroline had attempted to

control her husband’s infidelities by pairing him with women who would not be a threat to the

throne or power, George himself largely enjoyed the stories of his amorous prowess. With the

Queen’s death, however, the nature of George’s sexual liaisons was scrutinized more and more

by the English public. Being held in thrall by a woman now seemed not only “Continental” but

perhaps downright dangerous. At the very least, in an increasingly moralistic age, discretion if

not complete abstinence was beginning to become the rule, and Handel’s portrayal of a lovesick

king granting his uppity mistress any wish she desired may have been a reality too many feared.

With the expiration of the law for censorship of the press in 1695, an entire new market

of pamphlets and writings flourished. A public long held in check by the censorship laws used

their newfound freedom to extol freedoms of the press and open up society mores in general.

What Handel missed, however, was how the attitude to strictures of morality had changed, even

in the fairly short amount of time between when Congreve wrote his libretto and when Handel

re-set it. Sexuality, especially as it pertained to young, sheltered women, was far from liberated.

Although heroines from seventeenth-century works were “witty, worldly young ladies of fiercely

independent spirit,”145 the same rules no longer applied to mid-eighteenth-century heroines. The

Society for the Reformation of Manners, and similar groups sprung up and actively promoted the

virtues of temperance and chastity. Examples of this doctrine pervading society can be found in

Samuel Richardson’s novels, most notably Clarissa, in which the title character kills herself

145 John Andrews, “Sex, Drugs and Baroque Opera,” Playbill Arts (2006), www.playbillarts.com/features/article/print/5126.html. instead of living with the shame of rape.146 It makes sense then, that the Semele of Congreve’s

libretto would no longer be seen as the carefree, clever, perhaps naïve, but ultimately ill-used

heroine. Instead, in the newly moralistic light, she is now an opportunist who abandons her

duties on earth for an illicit liaison and contributes to her own downfall through her vanity and

unseemly ambition.

Looking at newspaper clippings from the era, it is easy to draw conclusions about the

opinion the general public held regarding the character of Semele. An editorial published in 1723

exalting the late Queen Anne’s rule on the anniversary of her death compared England to the

tragic heroine, stating, “The Rays of Majesty may be too strong and glaring…Then is a Land like

unhappy Semele, that enjoys a Jove incircled [sic] with his Lightning, and is blasted with the

Fierceness of his Embraces.”147 At this point, Semele is not portrayed to be at fault, much as an

entire nation is not responsible for the foolishness of its monarch – up to a point. It does not mean that there will not be consequences if incompetency continues - in the case of kings, coups

or other struggles for power, in the case of Semele the ambition that eventually causes her demise. However, the editorial is not unsympathetic to the plight of those who become caught up

in intrigue without originally aiming for it.

By 1752, that opinion had changed. A poem to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lionel

Sackville, attempting to extort money by Margaret Woffington, a popular Irish actress, includes

the stanza “Remember Semele, who dy’d/A fatal Victim to her Pride,/Glorious Example! How it

fires me!/I burn, and the whole God inspires me!/My Bosom is to Fear a Stranger,/The Prize is

more, enhanc’d by Danger.”148 Here the roles are reversed and Mrs. Woffington appears to be

warning the duke about fatal pride, yet she also comments (perhaps not unusually for a theatre

146 Ibid. 147 “It is a Day,” Freeholder’s Journal, February 6, 1723, Iss. LXI. 148 “To his Grace,” The National Gazette, January 4, 1752, Iss 82. actress) that (unlike Semele) although she realizes there may be consequences to calling out an

extremely powerful man in a public newspaper about his annual pension towards her (likely the

result of blackmail or illicit relations), like Semele, she is inspired by the possibilities in moving

beyond her humble circles, even if she is outside her ken in doing so.

A reference the following year in the society tattler, “The Rambler,” gives a more explicit

warning with using the metaphor of Semele. In writing regarding a certain young lady, the author

warns, “Let her not however consult her Curiosity, more than her Prudence; but reflect a

Moment on the Fate of Semele, who might have lived the Favourite of Jupiter, if she could have been content without his Thunder…The Torch of Truth shows much that we cannot, and all that we would not see.”149 Here, the author is clearly using the tale of Semele as caution to this young woman to essentially be careful in her wishes and desires, as they may backfire on her with a vengeance, as the myth of Semele attests. This is a clear use of the tale to warn upper-class females about the potential consequences of aspiring to things not only not completely known but perhaps beyond what they should know.

Having evidence of Handel made concessions, especially in the final scene to what he must have felt were the more morally constraining attitudes of the day, but evidently they were not enough. He cut more suggestive language when Jupiter eventually acquiesced to Semele’s demands: “Speak, speak your desire, [I’m all over fire.] Say what you require, I’ll grant it –[now let us retire].”150 Juno’s reference to Semele was also changed from “curs’d adulteress” to

simply “cursed Semele.” Finally, he made sure to moderate Semele’s stated blatant ambition by

eliminating the verse “I love and am lov’d, yet more I desire; ah, how foolish a Thing is Fruition!

As one Passion cools, some other takes Fire, And I’m still in a longing Condition. Whate’er I

149 The Rambler (Collected Issues 1753), April 21, 1753, Iss 10. 150 Congreve, William. “Semele.” In Musica Britannica: A National Collection of Music, LXXVI, Semele: An Opera , edited by Richard Platt, xl-xli. London: Stainer and Bell, 2000. possess Soon seems an Excess. For something untry’d I petition; Tho’ daily I prove The

Pleasures of love, I die for the Joys of Ambition.”151 He also completely cut the celebratory

dance scene in the finale, which consisted of rejoicing in the coming of Bacchus who would

place lust and earthiness before the painful sorrows of love. Nevertheless, declaring happiness

based on licentiousness, drunkenness, and frivolity was not that radical of an improvement and

the moralistic overseers were not fooled. Further, the suggestiveness of other sensual arias such

as “Endless pleasure,” “With fond desiring,” or “O Sleep, why dost thou leave me?” do little to

distract the mind from the obvious references to immoral behavior.152

Handel’s exact intentions cannot be known. Some have even suggested that the story

serves as an allegory for Handel’s own situation at the time in which Semele would represent his

detractors and the competing opera party which is defeated by the maneuverings of Handel and

his supporters (represented by Juno)153. What is known is that Handel would not have been

immune or unaware of the political events occurring, but then neither would he necessarily feel

the need to bring more than musical entertainment to his audience, especially at a time when the

questionable allusions could be used against him and have negative consequences on his career.

What seems most likely is that Handel was determined to at least experiment with broadening his

definition of oratorio; since he more or less invented the English mainstream version, it is not

surprising that he would test the form’s limits at some point. As examined more thoroughly later,

he was not dissuaded by initial questionable reactions, monetary incentives, or disapproval from

certain aristocratic factions, from presenting Semele. He must have been aware that allegories in

151 Congreve, William. “Semele.” In Musica Britannica: A National Collection of Music, LXXVI, Semele: An Opera , edited by Richard Platt, xl-xli. London: Stainer and Bell, 2000. 152 John Andrews, “Sex, Drugs and Baroque Opera,” Playbill Arts (2006), www.playbillarts.com/features/article/print/5126.html. 153 Ellen Harris, Liner Notes from Semele, English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by John Nelson, Deutsche Grammophon 435 782-2, 1993, CD. the drama would be seen, but perhaps he did not fully realize how they would be interpreted or

the complete criticism and dislike of the subject matter. For it was not only that Semele was not a

Biblical topic, but that additionally, it was a scandalous fable of an ambitious wanton. While she may have fallen victim to her flaws in the end, it is easy to see how the increasingly moralistic mid-eighteenth century society would still condemn the basis of the plot and the shocking (for the time) references made throughout. Chapter 6: Semele: Her Character and Music

One of the best ways to examine the character of Semele is to approach it through

Handel’s musical setting. Although additional composers used this story as the basis of other

works, those all seem to have been smaller chamber works written for more intimate private

audiences. Handel tackled the tale on a grander scale. Of all his dramatic works, Semele is one of

the few title characters, of which all the drama centers around. Although there is a careful

balance of mortals versus gods in terms of the number of roles of each in the work, Semele is

really the only human character who is fully developed. Additionally, she is the only non-god to

take part in the proceedings of the plot once the scene changes to Mt. Olympus in Acts II and III,

save for the sisters’ reunion in Scene 4 of Act II and the last two scenes of the show, which take

place back on earth. By examining the way she is presented and some of the more unusual

aspects of a so-called heroine in an opera, a clearer picture of Handel’s insight, as he is master of

both the sacred oratorio and Italian opera at this point, on his construction of Semele may become perceptible.

Semele is present at the opening of Act I, when the audience gets a sense of the conflict as Athamas and Cadmus plead with her to stop delaying. She is introduced musically as she reveals her infatuation with Jupiter (Jove) during an accompanied recitative “Ah me!” which occurs off to one side, away from the rest of the group. This first presentation by the main character effectively sums up the dilemma Semele faces of deciding whether her true longings are hopeless or have a chance to be realized. Although this recitative is ostensibly in Bb, Handel

portrays Semele’s flightiness by moving her melodic line in an almost random fashion and

employing Abs which are not in the key signature. Moving from the recitative, she goes

immediately into the air “Oh Jove in pity teach me which to choose,” again seeking guidance in her own distress about whether she should go through with her arranged wedding to Athamas,

even if it fails to match the passion she could hypothetically find on Olympus with Jupiter.

Ironically, she seeks these answers from the object of her desire, Jupiter himself. This air starts

on the dominant G major of the eventual tonic, C minor, but what is unique about it is the leap of

a 9th from G to Ab in the opening passages, as well as the chromaticism throughout.154 This is

very strange and can be seen as a representation of Semele’s aimlessness and non-resolution to

her dilemma. It is also the first song which conveys one of the seven deadly sins – all of which

she experiences throughout the work. Here, she hints at gluttony – wanting too much from

Jupiter at the expense of what she already has at Thebes.

From this initial air, Semele then continues directly again into her first da capo air “The

morning lark,” which Handel added. Although lovely, the context and lyrics are superfluous at

this point in the story and add nothing to the plot or scene. It seems to be made mostly to

showcase the ability of the singer, although there is some great interplay between the two violins

as well as the violins and voice, in terms of trading off rhythmically to mimic bird calls. This

theme is not uncommon in the rest of the work, as Handel uses rhythm to emphasize dramatic

points as well as show off the musicians’ skills. Handel used these types of similie arias in many

of his works and it follows a stereotypical regimented approach. Even the key is in the pastoral F

major, although this was a change Handel made after writing the autograph. Of the twenty-five

airs in the work, Semele has ten of them, four of which are da capo. In comparison, Handel used

only four da capo airs in the entirety of Saul and included an additional twenty-six airs without

da capo.155

154 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 377. 155 , Semele: An Oratorio, libretto by William Congreve, ed. The German Handel Society, The Works of George Frideric Handel, vol. 7, (Ridgewood, NJ: Gregg Press Incorporated, 1965). Semele next responds to Ino’s beckoning in secco recitative immediately preceding an

exceedingly rare happenstance in Handel – a quartet. The quartet in Semele is another brilliant example of Handel’s ability to mix strong harmony with separate, flowing melodies that fit so well over the intricately written instrumental music. The rhythmic presentation in “Why Dost

Thou Thus Untimely Grieve?” is magnificent in capturing the back-and-forth conversational nature of Cadmus, Semele, and Athamas’s inquiries while allowing Ino to contemplate as well as respond to them. Although the characters of Semele, Athamas, and Ino do not enter until the

piece is already halfway through, each part contains a unique, interwoven rhythm as well as

melody line that provides for a fascinating interplay between the characters. By m. 35, Semele,

Cadmus, and Athamas finally have the same rhythm and lyrics at the same time, with Ino

responding “of all” in a series of eighth and quarter notes separated by eighth rests. Meanwhile,

Cadmus interjects “or he, or she or I?” on the off-beats of Ino’s cries. The three once again come together in lyric and rhythm to inquire once more, decisively, “of whom dost thou complain?” before the quartet ends with Ino woefully espousing her initial complaint, “Of all, but all, I fear, in vain.”

Semele ends Act I, Scene 1 in a short recitative, ironically assuring Jupiter that her heart belongs to him just as Athamas implores Juno for her aid in blessing their union. Semele is then not again physically seen in Act I. Instead, Cadmus relates how Semele was taken up by an eagle. Although Cadmus initially finds this ghastly, the chorus of priests and augurs assure him of the honor Jove has paid him by abducting his daughter for his own, and Semele’s voice is then heard, presumably from the heavens, declaring rather boldly “Endless pleasure, endless love

Semele enjoys above!” This is more of a descriptive air that could have been sung by any interpretive narrator rather than the main character herself, and Congreve had originally assigned it to the role of Second Augur. The fact that Semele sings it, however, allows her to show both

her vain pride at having been chosen by Jupiter as well as her lust, two more of the deadly sins,

continuing to set up Semele as a wicked and depraved character. And in a classic Handelian

move, the refrain of the song is picked up by the chorus and changes from a simple

accompaniment of violin, bass, and harpsichord to two cornets, two , two violins, viola,

and bass, as well as harpsichord, deeply enriching the harmonic tone color, as the act ends on

celebratory note on earth and the drama prepares to move to the heavens.

Semele is not present in the opening scene of Act II, in which Juno and Iris plot her

eventual demise, but she is a dominant character in each of the subsequent three scenes. Now

ensconced in the palace Jupiter constructed for her, she contemplates her new role and the

emotions that go along with it. Although Scene 2 originally started with an air by Cupid, Handel

cut that part after completing the autograph; hence, Semele’s air “Oh sleep, why dost thou leave

me?” makes up the entirety of the scene. Semele displays another sin, sloth, with her lazy

lamenting of the loss of abundant rest. The largo continuo aria has only a vocal line accompanied

by cello and harpsichord. As this scene takes place as Semele awakes, the sensuous intimacy

conveyed by the instrumentation and tone color is not a minor occurrence. As Dean points out,

the perfectly placed climax of the high G sharp five measures from the end is both a point to be

built to as well as a pleasing conclusion for the ear.156

Jupiter then enters, signaling the beginning of Scene 3. Semele questions him in a quick

secco recitative, revealing her own doubts about his constancy when he leaves her alone and

goes off. This is where envy and greed make their first substantial appearances as Semele listens

to Jupiter’s responses but has no intention of consenting to any solution less than what she desires. He attempts to reassure her in a da capo air, followed by further explanation in his own

156 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 382. secco recitative. Semele then moves into her unisoni da capo air in D minor, “With fond desiring,” as she tells of the pains of love but in a manner that comes across as coquettish and plays to her own purposes. The violins are in unison with the voice the entire time, but Handel

finally expands the harmony in his successive chorus, made up of Loves and Zephyrs. In a series

of following recitatives, Semele explains to Jupiter that her doubt and fear stem from her

mortality. Although Jupiter then responds in an aside, stressing that he understands that Semele

wishes to be made immortal, he must pretend not to realize her “dangerous ambition,” stressing

again that Semele is clearly in the wrong for her foolish aspirations. He then performs another

da capo air, “I must with speed amuse her,” to ostensibly stop her from revealing her exact meaning; however, the notion of immortality is first explicitly stated by Jupiter. At this point, from a strict interpretation of the libretto standpoint, it seems less clear that Semele’s only aim is to become immortal. Although she later, with Juno’s aid, makes that her goal, at this point one could also read into her actions that she wished to not be alone with her jealousy and anxiety, however that could be accomplished. Whether notions of immortality were inherent in this desire seems yet to be determined. Nevertheless, the chorus of Loves and Zephyrs once again interject, blatantly alluding to the fact that immortality is indeed what is separating the two lovers, saying

“Now love that everlasting boy invites, to revel while you may in soft delights.” Jupiter devises a

distraction for the time being in the form of Ino, Semele’s sister, and performs the iconic

“Where’er you walk,” da capo air, based on Pope’s poetry, before exiting.

Scene 4 opens with a short recitative during which the sisters greet each other. Ino then

performs an air before the two move immediately into a duet. The beginning and ending of the

duet are marked grave e pianissimo and adagio, respectively, while the intervening main portion

is a more lively contrapuntal-style, with the sisters often trading off runs and figures over simple accompaniment before ending somewhat staidly after a fermata brings the andante portion to a

close.157 As is typical with Handel, the entire act then closes with another chorus, this time made

up of nymphs and swains who again underscore the eternal foreshadowing by declaring “And to

that pitch th’eternal accents raise, that all appear divine.” 158

Act III again starts with a scene between Juno and Iris, only this time they are visiting

Somnus to induce him to aid in their scheme. For a second time in as many acts, Semele’s first

appearance occurs in Scene 2, which consists of a simple largo continuo aria. This time,

however, the sleep is elusive and Semele ponders her “racking thoughts” which cause “painful

nights” void of rest. A rhythmic ostinato conveys her ever-increasing unease, and the second

phrase with the repetition of the lyrics “by no kind slumber freed” hovers around C dominant,

emphasizing the continuously churning thoughts.

Then Juno, disguised as Ino, enters holding a mirror. In simple, unaccompanied

recitative, the two discuss Semele’s situation and Juno praises Semele’s “celestial beauty”

inquiring whether Jove had yet consented to making Semele immortal. This is where Handel’s

changes to Congreve’s libretto are revealed to be unfortunate for the substance of the plot. In one

line, Semele goes from normal insecurities to utter infatuation with herself. Although she has had

complaints in previous scenes, there is no other indication in the presentation of her character

that would cause one to believe she could so easily be indoctrinated by outside assertions.

Indeed, in the original libretto, Semele denies Juno’s flattering claims twice before reluctantly

conceding that she might have a point. In Handel’s version, Semele immediately agrees with

Juno’s statement and launches into the da capo air “Myself I shall adore,” a flagrant symbol of

her greed, pride and narcissism. At this point the audience cannot help but become fed up with

157 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 384. 158 George Frideric Handel, Semele: An Oratorio, libretto by William Congreve, ed. The German Handel Society, The Works of George Frideric Handel, vol. 7, (Ridgewood, NJ: Gregg Press Incorporated, 1965). Semele’s selfish, childish, and over-the-top behavior, leading them to conclude that she deserves

whatever fate awaits her. This is an obvious final statement by Handel to truly make the morality

blatant and leave no one with any doubt as to Semele’s culpability in her eventual fortune.

Handel does use a repetitive motif to illustrate the idea of “mirror,” wherein the violins (and sometimes continuo) “reflect” back the pattern of notes that Semele previously sang. These repetitions occur throughout the aria in different rhythmic patterns, as Semele continues to “fall into the most frivolous vanity.”159 The music almost mocks Semele in its repetition for her conceit. Juno convinces Semele to use her beauty to woo Jupiter into granting her an unspecified

wish before she will again allow him to seek her bed. Once Jupiter acquiesces to this, Juno explains, Semele needs to use her wish to get Jupiter to appear to her in his immortal form and

thus she will be granted immortality as well. Semele’s response occurs in a minor key, perhaps

foreshadowing her epic eventual downfall, as in actuality Juno knows that Jupiter’s appearance

in anything but his mortal form will prove too great and kill Semele. Interestingly, Handel does

not make Juno out to be a villain; indeed, although she acts out of envy, pride, greed, and jealousy herself, it seems by her portrayal that she is justified in attempting to regain her rightful

position. Nevertheless, Semele is unaware of Juno’s motive, so she thanks Ino/Juno for her

brilliant assistance and promises to grace her with similar charms once her own assertions to

immortality are realized. They then bid “adieu” in recitative with Juno mocking Semele in an

aside, calling her a “vain wretched fool” as she takes her leave.

Scene 4 finds Semele and Jupiter alone, once again dealing with their differing views on

the permanence of love and Semele’s demands. In his air, Jupiter relays how Semele came to

him in a dream (the result of Juno’s machinations with Somnus), yet denied him. He begs her to

not do the same now. Semele, keenly aware of her power over him, launches into simplistic

159 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 372. accusatory air, “I ever am granting” which does not incorporate any more accompaniment than a

bass until the instrumental coda sans singing. The Neapolitan sixth chord, built on the Eb is present throughout giving the air what Dean calls a “peculiar poignancy.”160 Semele

subsequently gets Jupiter to swear to grant her one desire, which he affirms in a short but fiery accompanied recitative in which the strings use successive blocks of sixteenth notes to convey the passion and power of Jupiter, followed by a rousing configuration on the drums meant to

resemble thunder in the distance. Semele then confirms “You’ll grant what I require?” in

recitative and when Jupiter once again assents, she tells him to “cast off this human

shape…and…like Jove too appear!” Jupiter begs Semele to reconsider, but having made her

request and securing Jupiter’s promise to comply with her wishes, Semele expresses her refusal

and unleashes her wrath, the final deadly sin, as she tells Jupiter to think again in another da

capo air, “No, no, I’ll take no less,” characterized by long runs on the words “alarm” and “arm,”

which closes the scene. As previously mentioned, the words for this entire bravura aria were

tweaked after Handel set it, to accommodate the rhythm of the music. Thus “I’ll be pleas’d with

no less/than my wish in excess; let the oath you have taken alarm ye: So with all your

omnipotence arm ye,” from the original Congreve air morphed into “No, no, I’ll take no less/than

all in full excess; your oath it may alarm you: With all your powers arm you,” in the Handel

version.161

Jupiter is left lamenting his hasty concession in Scene 5, in an unusual song that switches

between accompanied recitative and an arioso as he thrice concludes, “’Tis past recall, she must

a victim fall!” Scene 6 consists of Juno taking pleasure in the notion that her revenge plan

160 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 387. 161 George Frideric Handel, Semele: An Oratorio, libretto by William Congreve, ed. The German Handel Society, The Works of George Frideric Handel, vol. 7, (Ridgewood, NJ: Gregg Press Incorporated, 1965). worked to perfection, but again, she is depicted as entirely justified to have orchestrated

Semele’s downfall as the true wife of Jupiter even if her motives and means were both suspect.

In the third scene in a row to contain a single musical number by one character, Semele

is, according to stage directions, “lying under a canopy.” As she looks up, Jupiter descends in a

cloud surrounded by thunder and lightning. In what may be the most unusual part of the work,

Semele sings her lament, realizing her fatal mistake and aware that death is imminent, not in the

form of an aria of frivolity, but rather an innovative piece that can best be described as half

accompanied recitative and half arioso. The intensity of the accompaniment yields both the impending doom as well as the inevitable end for Semele. Handel switches between mournful pleas backed by recitative and forceful articulation representing approaching thunder and lightning. Finally, Semele ends her anguish, finishing her song unaccompanied as she slinks away on a series of hushed repetitive tonic Fs before the orchestra carries on in an altered ritornello.162 This scene is obviously the climax of the entire show, yet its presentation is probably the most nuanced and deliberate. There is no doubt that Semele would not have ended

up as she did had she not possessed overarching vanity, pride, and ambition and became a victim

to her own envy greed and lust. Nevertheless, she was also led to her downfall, manipulated by

Juno and treated almost as an afterthought by Jupiter who initially so desperately wanted her. Yet

neither of these characters faces any culpability, continuing with Handel’s theme that those who

have obtained their positions by lawful means are owed their due, even if they must rely on less

than savory means of maintaining them. The status quo is not to be questioned. Instead, it is

Semele who completely bears the entire brunt of her own foolishness. Semele repents, but it is

too late for her.

162 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 390-1. In the final scenes, all of Thebes has witnessed Semele’s demise, yet they quickly

regroup. Ino and Athamas pair off and Apollo descends, announcing the silver lining of Semele’s

death – the birth of Bacchus. In typical Handel fashion, a chorus celebrates, but none of the main characters – Jupiter, Juno, or Semele, are present at the end of the show. Indeed, there is a moral, but all does not turn out well for the heroine; Semele herself has fallen the ultimate victim to the

struggle for power. However, it is still possible for the audience to take the morality and

warnings implicit in the work and apply the lessons to their own selves or allegories. Chapter 7: Performance History, Editions, and Recordings

Semele’s history of performance is sporadic, at best. After its premiere in February of

1744 and attempted revival the following December, it was not performed again in Handel’s lifetime. However, in the March 17, 1762 edition of Lloyd’s Evening Post and British Chronicle, under the heading “Theatrical Entertainments,” it is stated that on March 18th at Covent-Garden,

King Henry the Fourth will be performed, and on March 19th, Semele, an Oratorio is scheduled.

This 1762 revival included a completely re-written Athamas part, moving the range from alto to tenor. This and other alterations were instituted by a copyist known only as S5.163

Despite the fact that, as far as it appears, Semele was infrequently revived in its entirety for almost 125 years, much of the music from the work remained popular during Handel’s lifetime and beyond. Many benefit concerts advertised in the London newspapers of the day included selections from Semele. Most of these concerts either contained exclusively or almost exclusively music written by Handel. “O Sleep,” “Myself I Shall Adore,” and “Where’er You

Walk” were performed most frequently. The , too, was occasionally used as well, appearing in several reviews and announcements of concerts in the 1780s. A review in the

Morning Chronicle and London Advertiser for February 6, 1788 also states that “See, she blushing turns her eyes,” was performed during an “Ancient Musick” concert in Tottenham

Street.164 Perhaps by the 1780s, more unusual selections from Handel’s works were made as the popular airs were performed quite frequently and obviously no new material was forthcoming.

Handel himself modified his own score several times before the first performance.

During his original rewriting, along with re-setting and shortening a few pieces, Handel replaced the original final chorus of Congreve’s, most probably because the implied drunkenness was not

163 Anthony Hicks, “Review: Ravishing Semele” The Musical Times 114, no. 1561 (Mar, 1973): JSTOR, 275. 164 Collected newspaper articles from the Charles Burney database, The British Library, London. appropriate for a piece to be performed as a supposed oratorio during Lent. These changes took

place before on or before July 4, when the score was officially completed. They next revision

involves changing the part of Athamas from tenor to alto. To this end, Handel almost completely

rewrote the entire part, even when it was not necessary. He also improved upon several other

pieces, including Scene 4 in Act II, which did not appear in the Congreve original. At this time the conducting and vocal parts were prepared. Henceforth, Handel only corrected the conducting score and not the actual autograph. He adjusted awkward text phrases in a few pieces and later adjusted the keys, ostensibly for the benefit of his singers, since Handel had strict notions about

tonal relationships, the tone color or specific keys, and often created elaborate tonal associations

within individual acts of his works.165 The amount of material unused that appears in the original

score, however, is incredible. For instance, the autograph contains several complete airs that

were removed before the first performance. Some, like “Come, Zephrys, come” were restored in

subsequent revivals. Others were never performed and only recently published for the first time

(“See, she blushing” and “Behold in this mirror”). Finally, additional potential pieces were

discarded while still in their initial stages. 166

The original score was published by J. Walsh. Although Walsh had previously printed

proposals for issuing the score by subscription only, that idea was apparently scrapped, and the

score was printed in three parts, each selling for 4 pence. These scores were advertised in the

London Daily Post and General Advertiser on February 25, March 2, and March 10, the notice

reading, “New Musick. This day is published, Price 4s. Songs in Semele. To which is prefixed

the Overture in Score. Composed by Mr. HANDEL. As they are performed at the Theatre-Royal

in Covent-Garden. Printed for J. Walsh in Catherine-Street in the Strand.” This printing includes

165 Hugo Leichtentritt, Music, History, and Ideas (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1938), 145-6. 166 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 395-7, Anthony Hicks, “Review: Ravishing Semele” The Musical Times 114, no. 1561 (Mar, 1973): JSTOR275. all of the solo airs, the duets and quartet, the overture, the symphony at the beginning of Act III,

and one recitative. A forthcoming complete score advertised by Wright in 1787 is not known to

have actually been printed. In any case, a new edition of the Semele score appeared in print the next year as part of Dr. Samuel Arnold’s forty-volume edited works of George Frederic

Handel.167,168 This was the first complete score to be published and drew on Walsh’s initial

printings as its source, along with copies of the autograph to fill in the missing recitatives and

choruses. Arnold’s result was a score that very closely resembled the original performance.169

The next major edition known to have been published was that of in

1860. Musicologists have long lamented this version as untrue to Handel’s original vision. It contains obvious errors and incorporates changes that were made for later performances, many from the performance of 1762, as well as the December revival. Dean bemoans the fact that

Chrysander’s guidelines for choosing vocal pitch are inconsistent, at best. Sometimes he prints the original as well as the alternative, but at others, he omits the optional alternative, on occasion excluding the original vocal line from the autograph. The recitative “Oh Athamas; what torture hast thou borne!” is wrongly attributed to Ino instead of Athamas, and another of Semele’s airs in the first act is not referred to as such. He also made no attempt to restore any of altered pieces to their original autograph keys.170 Hicks sums up his frustrations about the error-ridden, yet still widely used Chrysander edition by stating, “Instead of contenting himself with cleaning up the details of Arnold’s text, Chrysander went further and incorporated from the conducting score an arbitrary selection of revisions…”171 A 1878 vocal score with pianoforte accompaniment revised

167 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 395. 168 Gerald Silverman, “New light, but also more confusion, on ‘Es muss sein,’” The Musical Times 144, no. 1884 (Autumn, 2003), 51. JSTOR. 169 Anthony Hicks, “Review: Ravishing Semele” The Musical Times 114, no. 1561 (Mar, 1973): JSTOR, 275. 170 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 395, 397. 171 Anthony Hicks, “Review: Ravishing Semele” The Musical Times 114, no. 1561 (Mar, 1973): JSTOR, 275. from that of the German Handel Society was edited by .172 This version follows

Chrysander’s edits almost exactly and additionally includes an attempt to clean up suggestive

language by the removal of the words “bed” and “desire.” Prout later edited a concert version

containing an even more reduced text, and the 1878 vocal edition went out of print.173

Semele was first revived by the Cambridge University Musical Society in 1878, but it was not until 1925 that the same group performed the first staged showing of Semele. In an article run in The Musical Times just before the anniversary performance (February 10, 1925 –

181 years after the initial debut), W. Barclay Squire writes that it had recently been performed at

Halle, Germany in an abridged manner, but that “in spite of the beauty and freshness of much of the music, the work still remains practically unknown.”174 This performance, however, used the

1762 libretto, not Handel’s original work.175 The reviewer’s main points seem to be shock at the

fact that an amateur production could include sometimes “almost brilliant” playing from the

orchestra and that the choruses were sung from memory. He also noted that the production

featured several different species of animal on stage. Of actual important, however, is the detail

that the production eliminated all the da capo on the airs for the sake of time.176 A constant

struggle in staging not only Semele but other Handelian works is the decision of what to cut,

where, and how much, so that the show can actually be completed in a practical amount of time.

Since then, Semele has slowly gained credence as legitimate, long-overlooked Handelian

work. It had its London stage debut in the early 1950s and was revived four times (1959, 1961,

1964, and 1975) by the Handel Opera Society, which was founded and run by Charles

172 “Review,” The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular 19, no. 424 (Jun 1878), 338. JSTOR. 173 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 395. 174 W. Barclay Squire, “Handel’s Semele,” The Musical Times 66, no. 984 (Feb, 1925), 137. JSTOR. 175 Winton Dean, Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 394. 176 P.A.S., “Semele at Cambridge,” The Musical Times 66, no. 985 (Mar, 1925), 252. JSTOR. Farncombe.177 The (ENO; at the time known as Sadler’s Wells Opera)

incorporated Semele into their repertoire in 1970 and the same company later performed it at the

Royal Opera House in 1982, both times conducted by Sir .178 The latter

performance review stated that the show “gave about as much pleasure as anything can in an

imperfect world.”179 The American premiere occurred at the Ravinia Festival on the campus of

Northwestern University in January of 1959. Another notable initial performance in the United

States is that of the Washington National Opera in 1980.180 Carnegie Hall performed a concert

version of Semele in its complete form, un-cut during the 1985-6 season and featuring Kathleen

Battle as Semele and as Ino and Juno, with John Nelson conducting. It received

fabulous reviews and is available on CD on the Legendary Recordings label.181

Recently, Semele has been performed often by numerous opera companies around the

world. The ENO produced a smash hit in their 1999 production and later revived Robert

Carsen’s production, which was first produced at Aix in 1996, during November and December

of 2004. The Carsen version attempts to emphasize the modern political aristocracy element and

that fact that Semele is, after all, merely a passing trifle in the existence of the all-powerful

Jupiter. The set is stark and the costumes consist of 1950s couture.182 The ENO version was

directed by John LaBouchardiere, who then created a completely new production for the Scottish

Opera in 2005. LaBouchardiere’s new production starts as an oratorio, with the cast dressed in

black and the chorus in tuxedos, standing on risers. After Jupiter interrupts with his clap of

177 Winton Dean, “Music in London – Semele,” The Musical Times 116, no. 1594 (Dec, 1975): 1081-2. JSTOR. 178 “London Diary for October,” The Musical Times 111, no. 1531 (Sep 1970) 958. JSTOR. 179 Stanley Sadie, “Music in London – Opera, Semele,” The Musical Times, 130, no. 1752 (Feb 1989), 97. JSTOR. 180 “Previous Seasons,” Washington National Opera, www.dc- opera.org/aboutus/aboutcompany/previousseasons.asp. 181 Will Crutchfield, “Handel Opera: A Tercentenary Report New York,” Early Music 14, no.1 (Feb, 1986), 145. JSTOR. 182 H.E. Elsom, “The Ways of Gods,” ConcertoNet.com, The Classical Music Network, www.concertonet.com/scripts/review.php?ID_review=2705. thunder, however, the production turns into a staged opera, with elaborate Baroque costumes,

giant white pillows on wires simulating the clouds, and projections of the heavens for the

background.183 Several other (by no means exhaustive) productions include Pinchgut Opera out

of , in 2002,184 The Arizona Opera Company in 2006,185 and 2007’s by

Britain’s .186 It has been revived in Boston both by the Handel and Haydn

Society in November 1999187 and Opera Boston in 2008. The 2008 production, directed by Sam

Helfrich sets the drama in the 1970s at an awkward wedding reception, complete with hand-held

videocamera, EXIT signs, and flopping about on tables.188,189 This year, Semele has already seen

performances by Operahaus Zurich in January,190 the Pacific Opera Victoria in British Columbia

in mid-February191, and Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera Company, in a revival of

LaBouchardiere’s original Scottish Opera production, at the end of February.192

According to Phillippe Gelinaud, there are, as of April 2007, eight commercial recordings

of Handel’s Semele available. The first of these recordings was released on three LPs in 1956 on

the L’Oiseau-Lyre label. The premiere recording featured as Semele and

William Herbert as Jupiter. It was conducted by Anthony Lewis with the St. Anthony Singers

and the New Symphony Orchestra of London, using modern instrumentation. Four more

recordings featuring modern instruments have been made, the most recent and most oft-cited

183 Raymond Monelle, “Why did No One Think of This Before? An Innovative Semele at Scottish Opera,” The Independent Feb. 28, 2005, www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=25255. 184 “About,” Pinchgut Opera, http://www.pinchgutopera.com.au/ABOUT/?IntCatId=2. 185 “Arizona Opera Presents a Debut Production of Semele,” Arizona Opera, http://www.azopera.com/news.php?subcat=releases&release=semelerelease. 186 “Reviews – Semele,”Early Opera Company, http://www.earlyopera.com/. 187 T. J. Medrek, “Semele’s Timeless Tale Unrequited Love Told Well,” The Boston Herald, Nov. 1 1999. 188 “Review – Semele does Boston,” Bostonist.com, http://bostonist.com/2008/02/02/review_semele_does_boston.php. 189 Matthew Guerrieri, “Spirit of the ‘70s fills a Greek myth in updated Semele,” The Boston Globe, Feb. 4, 2008. 190 “Programme – Semele,” Opernhaus Zurich, www.opernhaus.ch/e/spielplan/spielplan_detail.php?vorstellID=10325371. 191 “Semele,” Pacific Opera Victoria, http://www.pov.bc.ca/semele.html. 192 “Semele,” The Florentine Opera Company, www.florentineopera.org/2008-2009_season/semele.html. being John Nelson conducting the English Chamber Orchestra, featuring in the

title role, Alan Aler as Jupiter, Marilyn Horne as both Juno and Ino, and doubling

as Cadmus and Somnus. The recording is fluid and well-balanced, with the singers doing an

excellent job of tackling Handel’s sometimes difficult ornamentation. This Deutsche

Grammophon recording has received wide acclaim for its quality and talented cast, as well as

Nelson’s first-rate conducting skills.193 A recording made in 1974 and re-released on CD in 1997

by the Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester under the direction of is notable in that

it is sung entirely in German. An additional three recordings use authentic instrumentation

including the two most recently made, both released in 2004, by directed by David

Stern and the Sirius Ensemble and Choir conducted by Antony Walker. 194 However,

the most famous of the authentic instrumental recordings is the first, released in 1983 and

conducted by on the label. This recording is often touted amongst

traditionalists, even if the ensemble is a bit smaller, lacking the resounding sound of a usual

Handelian chorus, and several small cuts were made to assist in adjusting the overall length.195

The most recent recording was released on January 8, 2008 by the Early Opera Company of

London. Conducted by , and featuring Rosemary as Semele and Richrd

Croft in the role of Jupiter, this recording is notable because it is the first to accurately adhere to the entire text of Handel’s original first version performance.196

So after centuries of being all but forgotten, why has Semele taken off again in the opera world, no less? As one source comments, “Semele is now so firmly established in the Handel

193 George F. Handel, Semele, compact disc, performed by John Nelson, Kathleen Battle, Marilyn Horne, Samuel Ramey, , Sylvia McNair, and the English Chamber Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon, 1993). 194 Philippe Gelinaud, “George Frideric Handel Oratorios, Dramas, Serenades and Odes Discography,” GFHandel.org, http://www.gfhandel.org/Discography-Oratorios-Dramas-Serenades-Odes.pdf. 195 George F. Handel, Semele, compact disc, performed by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, , Anthony Rolfe-Johnson, , Patrizia Kwella, , , the Monteverdi Choir, and the English Baroque Soloists (Erato, 1983). 196 David Vickers, “The Mysteries, Myths and Truths about Mr Handel,” Gramophone, April 2009, 43. canon that it is difficult to realize just how unpopular it was in the composer’s own day.”197

Obviously, our more liberal society does not regulate by the same strictures that were prevalent

in Georgian London. Although there were new concepts and ideas being flaunted by a variety of

composers, there was still a very definite concept of what was thought of as suitable for a

refined, theatre and concert-going audience, especially by such an eminent composer as Handel

and during the Lenten season. Handel’s attempts at broadening the scope of what an oratorio

could be met with subtle, yet very real, opposition, shown mostly through the fact that Semele

performed so miserably in spite of the reality that the music in general was thought delightful

and individual arias were continuously revived for concerts and benefits throughout the 18th

century. As with many of Handel’s oratorios, explicit stage directions were left in the libretto, leading modern scholars to the conclusion that Handel, in an ideal world, would have very much supported the notion of performing the English oratorios on stage, and perhaps even thought that some day in the future, they may indeed be.198

Semele is widely regarded to be among Handel’s best works by those who are intimately

familiar with the piece itself and Handel’s works in general. Winton Dean, in a 1970 review, stated, “[Handel] poured into the score some of his most ravishing music…Semele is one of the

purest recreations of the classical Greek spirit, at once a myth rich in symbolism and an idyll that

embraces comedy and profound tragedy without losing its strength, consistency or individual

flavour.”199 It appears that as traditional operas continue to be revived, many companies are

searching back through the literature to find new works that were initially overlooked for some

reason. Semele fits perfectly into this mold. At the time it was written, it was unable to be

197 B.H., “Handel’s Semele: English National Opera,” The Organ, Dec. 1, 2004, www.theorganmag.com/liverevs/semele.html. 198 Winton Dean, “The Dramatic Element in Handel’s Oratorios,” Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, 79th Sess, (1952-53): 40. JSTOR. 199 Winton Dean, “Opera – Semele,” The Musical Times 111, no 1534. (Dec 1970), 1241. JSTOR. realized in its most natural form, which is a staged opera, or even appreciated for the innovation and story it attempted to tell. Failing initially, the work was more or less ignored during the 19th century and only gained footing as a viable performance piece again in the latter half of the 20th century as the stiff rules of behavior and morality of the Victorian era gave way to the much more expressive and open modern era. After the first more staggered performances, Semele has now become accepted as almost a mainstream opera. Herbage writes, “Semele is a work which if given stage presentation, would probably appeal more to modern audiences than any of Handel’s operas.”200 It certainly is more accessible to the lay opera-goer, with an English libretto and a

more straight-forward plot than most Handelian operas. Performed around the world by

companies of varying size and skill, the content is no longer controversial or taboo, and, in fact,

speaks to a timeless dilemma of choice between staid duty or loftier, perhaps fleeting, ambitions.

The jealousy, anger, and machinations of Juno; the angst and longing of Ino; the tradition and concern of Cadmus; the loyalty and eagerness to please of Iris, Jupiter’s power, arrogance, and inability to say no, the hope, desire, and demise of Semele, even Somnus’s narrow focus, are all themes that have played out in daily life since before the Ancient Greeks invented the tale and they continue to enthrall audiences, as removed from ancient Athens circa or Georgian England as we are. Ultimately, Handel’s forte is his ability to express emotion through music. The setting is really secondary, although in many ways, the story is easier to understand for a modern audience as a staged opera in English than either an un-staged oratorio or a staged Italian opera.

As Handel knew only too well, no matter how well-written or performed the work, the audience had the final say on its success. Although the original audience’s preconceived notions of immoral behavior would not allow them to accept the story of Semele as one of Handel’s great

200 Julian Herbage, “The Secular Oratorios and Cantatas,” in Handel: A Symposium, ed. Gerald Abraham (London: Oxford University Press, 1954), 145. works at the time, in an era with few restrictions on artistic content, Semele’s ability to capture

and delight the opera-going public is just now beginning to be realized.

Conclusion – When Handel journeyed to London upon invitation for the first time in

1710, it would have been difficult for anyone to have foreseen the impact the German’s move

would have on the music of London. Introducing true Italian opera to the city for the first time,

Handel’s decision to permanently move to England would greatly influence the development of

English stage drama and music during his lifetime and beyond. Even now, great reverence is felt

for the composer and his works by his adopted home country.

Although he had an epic history as an opera composer, it is the oratorio form that owes its

place in musical history almost entirely to the efforts of George Frederic Handel and his masterpieces, which are largely synonymous with the word oratorio to the layman even today.

Enjoying supremacy on the London opera scene for decades, Handel initially struggled with the realization that opera was no longer a profitable or popular enough genre when difficulties began

to materialize in the 1730s. Bankruptcy, obstinate opera singers and theatre managers, and

competition combined to force Handel to reexamine the fertility of continuing to write and

produce Italian opera in London during this time. At first he was unwilling to give it up, as might

be expected from one whose career and renown were due to his successes in the field. Still, he

began experimenting more in-depth with a type of earlier work he had composed for a patron –

Esther, which was termed an oratorio. Creating several of these popular works before officially

abandoning opera when political and personal strains grew too great in 1741, Handel established

customs for his oratorios. These norms included that the subject be based around a Biblical

theme, performed unstaged, that arias did not have to follow a strict da capo form and that

characters did not have to be limited to one Affekt and then leave the stage. Choruses played an important role in commenting and supporting the action, the form and thus plot were both

simplified, but most importantly, the works were written in English. It had become clear to

Handel that with the success of works such as The Beggar’s Opera and The Dragon of Wantley,

the potential audience could be greatly increased by including more of the middle class who

appreciated political parody and references in their native language. The costs for the

productions were also dramatically less as well. So it was that after being severely discouraged

and also dealing with illness, Handel’s journey to Dublin in 1742 renewed his passion and vigor

for not only composition but for his autonomous streak. Determined to turn down an offer to continue working on Italian opera under Middlesex’s watch, Handel instead turned his attentions

to Semele.

However, by going against his own established conventions in choosing Congreve’s

Semele libretto to set in 1743, Handel faced numerous criticisms and attacks and ultimately

failed at his attempts to incorporate non-sacred oratorios into the genre. Because Middlesex’s opera company was still struggling at the time, Handel’s production of what was an English opera libretto was seen by many as an attempt by Handel to disguise an effort to again produce

opera. Indeed, the public at large did not know what to make of it. Neither an opera nor an

oratorio, Semele hovered in bizarre third realm where the music itself was moderately approved

of while concept of a mythologically-based, non-staged opera sung in English with deliberate

allusions to licentiousness was more than most music aficionados were willing to attempt to

understand. Because the Middlesex dispute had subsequently divided the loyalties of the patrons

of the city, he did not have much room for outlandish alterations to his tried-and-true productions

of oratorios. While the debate over exactly what to call Semele continues to this day, one thing that

was not debated was the deliberate moral behind the story. Handel very obviously used linguistic

and musical devices to portray the character of Semele as a vainglorious woman unsatisfied with

her duty on earth who attempted to reach beyond her station. Although he toned down the more

explicit references to sexual liaisons, adultery, debauchery, and drunkenness, the topic was still a

shock to many of the well-to-do of the time. Semele was depicted as a woman whose overriding

wish to become immortal led her to easily fall victim to her own vanity and desperation. It seems

clear in Handel’s version that Semele reaps what she deserves, except that her final arioso is so

incredibly unique. Its lack of great force and power as would be found in a traditional climactic aria instead conveys a resignation, regret, and weariness that is startling in its own intensity. This

is different than the originally more complex (and perhaps more believable) version of the

character found in the original Congreve version who seems more uncertain about holding

Jupiter’s interest and as a result, wishes to be freed from doubt and unwittingly succumbs to

Juno’s schemes.

It is clear from accounts of the time that Semele was often used as a warning to women

who might aspire to move beyond their place in immoral or questionable ways. Semele’s fate

justly fits her actions in the sense of eighteenth-century morality, but the allegory can be used in a broader sense as well. Through this telling of classical myth, the position of the rightful, powerful gods (Jupiter and Juno, to an extent) is threatened by the mortal Semele who wants more than she deserves. Although perhaps initially persuaded by excitement and passion, Semele abandons her appropriate abode and then spends her time pining for more. Without Juno’s intervention, disaster could have ensued if Semele had convinced Jupiter to accept her fully. This aptly applies to a society built on hierarchy, as English society very much was at the time. In addition, it finds relevance among the Hanover/Stuart battle for the throne of England, the later

posturing of George II’s mistress, and Handel’s own battle for dominance as a composer over

those who might be trying to undermine him. The political and social contexts of the work were

abundant and remain relevant to this day.

However, Handel’s experiment in continuing to expand the realm of musical form and

works was abruptly ended, although he again attempted to re-establish this type of non-staged,

mythological drama in the work Hercules only two years later. The fact that Semele entered the

repertoire of opera companies only hesitantly in the latter part of the 20th century may speak to the unfamiliarity of a work which had been ignored for hundreds of years, as well as the uncertainty of whether it would truly be successful an as opera. Even more basic, than that, however, is again the question of the subject matter. As recently as 1900, the Rev. J. T.

Lawrence wrote in his review that Semele was “one of the most uninteresting works Handel ever

wrote” and “insufferably tedious.”201 Besides speaking to the stuffy conventions of the Victorian

era, the review again shows why the time for Semele would only begin to truly gradually unfold decades later. Nevertheless, now staged as an English opera on a regular basis by opera companies all over the world, Semele has made a triumphant return to the stage. The themes that underlie the work are still germane, although decidedly different from their original contexts.

Still, the more liberal society of today is perfect for examining the meaning behind the Greek myth in any era. Handel would doubtless have been pleased that his originally unappreciated and controversial work has at last found acceptance - and as a staged English opera, its original format, no less.

201 Rev. J.T. Lawrence, “Handel’s Semele,” Musical Opinion, (June, 1900), in Dean, Winton. Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (London: Oxford University Press, 1959).

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