Almira
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| Operas by George Frideric Handel |
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Almira (1705) |
Almira, Königin von Castilien or Der in Krohnen erlangte Glückswechsel (HWV 1), is George Frideric Handel's first opera.
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[edit] Background
Handel came to the city of Hamburg in the summer of 1703 and played as a violinist in the theatre at the Gänsemarkt, the local market place. On later occasions, he also played the harpsichord in the orchestra. His first opera – announced as a Singspiel—had its premiere on 8 January 1705 under the direction of Reinhard Keiser, so it is presumed that it must have been composed in the months directly preceding this.
The Italian libretto was written by Giulio Pancieri in Venice in 1691. Giuseppe Boninventi used it in his opera at the time. The translation used by Handel was made by Christian Feustking. While most of the recited parts and arias are sung in German, some remain untranslated.
[edit] Performance history
Almira was a resounding success. The opera was performed twenty times in total until its place was taken by Handel's next opera, Nero, the music of which has not been preserved. In 1732 the piece was once more performed in a version edited by Georg Philipp Telemann.
The first modern performance of Almira took place during the “Halleschen Händelfestspiele” (a festival dedicated to Handel) on the 4 June 1994, in Bad Lauchstädt.
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, January 8, 1705 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Almira, Queen of Castilia | soprano | |
| Edilia, a Princess | soprano | |
| Consalvo, Almira's guardian | bass | |
| Osman, his son | tenor | |
| Fernando, an orphan | tenor | |
| Raymondo, King of Mauretania | bass | |
| Bellante, Princess of Aranda | soprano | |
| Tabarco | tenor |
Thus Almira is an exception amongst Handel's operas, in that all the male characters use natural registers.
[edit] References
- Dean, Winton & Knapp, J. Merrill (1987), Handel's Operas, 1704-1726, Clarendon Press, ISBN 0193152193 The first of the two volume definitive reference on the operas of Handel.
- Almira (Händel) in German Wikipedia
- Lang, Paul Henry, George Frideric Handel
- Scheibler, Albert, Sämtliche 53 Bühnenwerke des Georg Friedrich Händel
