Partenope

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For other uses, see Parthenope
Operas by George Frideric Handel

Almira (1705)
Florindo (1708)
Rodrigo (1707)
Agrippina (1709)
Rinaldo (1711)
Il pastor fido (1712)
Teseo (1713)
Amadigi di Gaula (1715)
Acis and Galatea (1718)
Radamisto (1720)
Muzio Scevola (1721)
Floridante (1721)
Ottone (1723)
Flavio (1723)
Giulio Cesare (1724)
Tamerlano (1724)
Rodelinda (1725)
Scipione (1726)
Alessandro (1726)
Admeto (1727)
Riccardo Primo (1727)
Siroe (1728)
Tolomeo (1728)
Lotario (1729)
Partenope (1730)
Poro (1731)
Ezio (1732)
Sosarme (1732)
Orlando (1733)
Arianna in Creta (1734)
Oreste (1734)
Ariodante (1735)
Alcina (1735)
Atalanta (1736)
Arminio (1737)
Giustino (1737)
Berenice (1737)
Alessandro Severo (1738)
Faramondo (1738)
Serse (1738)
Giove in Argo (1739)
Imeneo (1740)
Deidamia (1741)
Semele (1744)
v • d • e

Partenope is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1730. It was Handel's first comic opera which broke away from the Opera Seria tradition. The Royal Academy of Music rejected the work because of its frivolous nature, with relatively few extended arias and more recitative.

Contents

[edit] Roles

Role Voice type Premiere Cast, January 31, 1727
(Conductor:- )
Partenope, Queen of Naples soprano Anna Maria Strada del Pò
Arsace, Prince of Corinth counter-tenor Antonio Maria Bernacchi
Armindo, Prince of Rhodes counter-tenor Francesca Bertolli
Emilio, Prince of Cumae tenor Annibale Pio Fabri
Rosmira/Eurimene, beloved of Arsace contralto Antonia Maria Merighi
Ormonte bass Johann Gottfried Reimschneider

[edit] Synopsis

Prince Arsace of Corinth and Prince Armindo of Rhodes are seeking Queen Partenope, the founder of the city of Naples, in marriage. A third prince, Emilio of Cumae, is at war with Naples and with Partenope. Partenope is primarily attracted to Arsace. However, she does not know that Arsace has previously abandoned Rosmira, who is disguised as a man, named Eurimene, and is trying to win him back. Rosmira, as Eurimene, confronts him and harasses him for his faithlessness, and demands that he keep her true identity secret. Ultimately, Rosmira/Eurimene challenges her lover to a duel in a court of honour, but her identity is revealed when he demands the condition that they fight stripped to the waist.[1]

[edit] Selected recordings

Harmonia Mundi IC 157-99 855-8: Kristzina Laki, Helga Müller Molinari, René Jacobs, John York Skinner, Martyn Hill, Stephen Varcoe; La Petite Bande; Sigiswald Kuijken, conductor.[2] [3] [4] [5]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Dean, Winton, "Music in London: Handel Operas" (January 1984). The Musical Times, 125 (1691): pp. 36-37.
  2. ^ Anderson, Nicholas, Review of recording of Partenope (July 1981). Early Music, 9 (3): pp. 385, 387.
  3. ^ Dean, Winton, "Record Reviews: Partenope" . (April 1980). The Musical Times, 121 (1646): pp. 251-252.
  4. ^ Pendle, Karin (1984). "Partenope. George Frideric Handel". The Opera Quarterly 2 (1): 158–159. doi:10.1093/oq/2.1.158. 
  5. ^ Jellinek, George (1985). "Partenope. George Frideric Handel". The Opera Quarterly 3 (3): 189–190. 

[edit] References

  • Dean, Winton (2006), Handel's Operas, 1726-1741, Boydell Press, ISBN 1843832682  The second of the two volume definitive reference on the operas of Handel


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