Polyphemus is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's Odyssey. His name means "abounding in songs and legends", "many-voiced" or "very famous". Polyphemus first appeared as a savage man-eating giant in the ninth book of the Odyssey. The satyr play of Euripides is dependent on this episode apart from one detail; Polyphemus is made a pederast in the play. Later Classical writers presented him in their poems as heterosexual and linked his name with the nymph Galatea. Often he was portrayed as unsuccessful in these, and as unaware of his disproportionate size and musical failings. In the work of even later authors, however, he is presented as both a successful lover and skilled musician. From the Renaissance on, art and literature reflect all of these interpretations of the giant.
Samson is a three-act oratorio by George Frideric Handel, considered one of his finest dramatic works. It is usually performed as an oratorio in concert form, but on occasions has also been staged as an opera. The well-known arias "Let the bright Seraphim", "Total eclipse" and "Let their celestial concerts" are often performed separately in concert.
Heavenly Handel: Arias and Duets is the title of a music recording Virgin Classics released on two compact discs in early 2004. It is a performance of arias and duets from operas by Georg Friedrich Händel.
Agrippina is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel with a libretto by Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani. Composed for the 1709–10 Venice Carnevale season, the opera tells the story of Agrippina, the mother of Nero, as she plots the downfall of the Roman Emperor Claudius and the installation of her son as emperor. Grimani's libretto, considered one of the best that Handel set, is an "anti-heroic satirical comedy", full of topical political allusions. Some analysts believe that it reflects Grimani's political and diplomatic rivalry with Pope Clement XI.
Orlando is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel written for the King's Theatre in London in 1733. The Italian libretto was adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's L'Orlando after Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, which was also the source of Handel's operas Alcina and Ariodante. More an artistic than a popular success at its first performances, Orlando is today recognised as a masterpiece.
Acis and Galatea is a musical work by George Frideric Handel with an English text by John Gay. The work has been variously described as a serenata, a masque, a pastoral or pastoral opera, a "little opera", an entertainment and by the New Grove Dictionary of Music as an oratorio. The work was originally devised as a one-act masque which premiered in 1718.
Antoni de Literes, also known as Antonio de Literes or Antoni Literes Carrión) was a Spanish composer of zarzuelas. As with other national forms of baroque opera, Literes's stage works employ a wide variety of musical forms – arias, ariettas and recitative as well as dance movements and choruses, though here mingled with spoken verse dialogue. His use of the orchestra follows French and Italian practice in including guitars, lutes, and harpsichords amongst the continuo instruments.
Esther is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. It is generally acknowledged to be the first English oratorio. Handel set a libretto after the Old Testament drama by Jean Racine. The work was originally composed in 1718, but was heavily revised into a full oratorio in 1732.
Solomon, HWV 67, is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. The anonymous libretto – currently thought to have been penned by the English Jewish poet/playwright Moses Mendes (d.1758) – is based on the biblical stories of the wise king Solomon from the First Book of Kings and the Second Book of Chronicles, with additional material from Antiquities of the Jews by ancient historian Flavius Josephus. The music was composed between 5 May and 13 June 1748, and the first performance took place on 17 March 1749, with Caterina Galli in the title role at the Covent Garden Theatre in London, where it had two further performances. Handel revived the work in 1759.
Acis and Galatea are characters from Greek mythology later associated together in Ovid's Metamorphoses. The episode tells of the love between the mortal Acis and the Nereid (sea-nymph) Galatea; when the jealous Cyclops Polyphemus kills Acis, Galatea transforms her lover into an immortal river spirit. The episode was made the subject of poems, operas, paintings, and statues in the Renaissance and after.
Clori, Tirsi, e Fileno, Cantata a tre, subtitled Cor fedele in vano speri, is a 1707 comic cantata by George Frideric Handel. The subject is a pretty shepherdess who loves two young men, but loses both when they discover her fickleness. Believed lost for many years, the score is the source of arias in some of Handel's later, more celebrated operas.
La Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea, or simply the Polifemo, is a literary work written by Spanish poet Luis de Góngora y Argote. The poem, though borrowing heavily from prior literary sources of Greek and Roman Antiquity, attempts to go beyond the established versions of the myth by reconfiguring the narrative structure handed down by Ovid. Through the incorporation of highly innovative poetic techniques, Góngora effectively advances the background story of Acis and Galatea’s infatuation as well as the jealousy of the Cyclops Polyphemus.
A bass is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a vocal range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C (i.e., E2–E4). Its tessitura, or comfortable range, is normally defined by the outermost lines of the bass clef. Categories of bass voices vary according to national style and classification system.
George Frideric Handel was the house composer at Cannons from August 1717 until February 1719. The Chandos Anthems and other important works by Handel were conceived, written or first performed at Cannons.
Metamorphoses (Transformations) is a Latin narrative poem by the Roman poet Ovid, considered his magnum opus. Comprising fifteen books and over 250 myths, the poem chronicles the history of the world from its creation to the deification of Julius Caesar within a loose mythico-historical framework. Although meeting the criteria for an epic, the poem defies simple genre classification by its use of varying themes and tones.
"Va tacito e nascosto" is an aria written for alto castrato voice in act 1 of George Frideric Handel's opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto, composed in 1724 to a libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym. Sung by the character Julius Caesar, it features extensive solos for natural horn.
Acis y Galatea is a zarzuela by Antonio de Literes to a libretto by José de Cañizares. It was first performed on 19 December 1708 in Madrid at the theatre Real Coliseo del Buen Retiro in the Buen Retiro Palace for the 25th birthday of King Philip V. It is based on Ovid's story of the Acis and Galatea myth in his Metamorphoses. The soprano aria "Confiado jilguerillo" [The confident goldfinch] is the opera's most popular number. A recording by Al Ayre Español was issued on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi in 2001.
Erminia, Tancredi, Polidoro e Pastore (R.374.26) or more simply Erminia, is the last of the serenades by Italian composer Alessandro Scarlatti. Conceived for four voices, choir and orchestra, the work was created on the occasion of a wedding at the Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano in Naples on June 13, 1723, two years before the musician's death. The second part has gone astray in time and long considered lost or as an unfinished work. In the 2010s, fragments were found thanks to the Répertoire international des sources musicales.
Polifemo is an opera in three acts by Nicola Porpora with a libretto by Paolo Rolli. The opera is based on a combination of two mythological stories involving the cyclops Polyphemus: His killing of Acis and his blinding by Ulysses.
Łukasz Konieczny is a Polish operatic bass. Between 2011 and 2019, he was a soloist of Düsseldorf Opera House. From 2019 to 2020, he performed at the Grand Theatre–National Opera in Warsaw.
