Deidamia (HWV 42) is an opera in three acts composed by George Frideric Handel to an Italian libretto by Paolo Antonio Rolli. It premiered on 10 January 1741 at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, London.
Deidamia (HWV 42) is an opera in three acts composed by George Frideric Handel to an Italian libretto by Paolo Antonio Rolli. It premiered on 10 January 1741 at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, London.
A ballad opera on the same story by John Gay had been performed in London in 1733, under the title Achilles.
Handel's opera, a co-production with the Earl of Holderness, [1] was first performed on 10 January 1741 at London's Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, but received only two more performances at a time when the public was becoming tired of Italian opera. The work was Handel's last Italian opera, and he subsequently turned his attention to composing oratorios. The opera was revived in the 1950s and it receives staged performances today, e.g. the 2012 staging by David Alden for Netherlands Opera. [2]
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 10 January 1741 |
|---|---|---|
| Deidamia, daughter of Licomede | soprano | Elisabeth Duparc ("La Francesina") |
| Nerea, friend of Deidamia | soprano | Maria Monza |
| Achille (Achilles), in women's dress, under the name of Pirra | soprano | Miss Edwards |
| Ulisse (Odysseus), King of Ithaca, using the name Antiloco | mezzo-soprano castrato | Giovanni Battista Andreoni |
| Fenice (Phoenix), King of Argos | bass | William Savage |
| Licomede (Lycomedes), King of Skyros | bass | Henry Theodore Reinhold |
The opera is based upon the Greek mythological character Deidamia, the daughter of King Lycomedes of Skyros, who bore a child by Achilles, as told in the stories of Achilles on Skyros.
The oracle predicted that Achilles would die if he fought in the Trojan War. In an attempt to forestall this fate, his father Peleus has disguised him as a girl and sent him to live in the palace of his friend Lycomedes, on the island of Skyros, where he is brought up amongst Lycomedes' daughters and becomes the lover of the eldest, Deidamia. As the Greeks prepare for their war against Troy, the priest Calchas reveals that the city cannot be taken without Achilles' help. Ambassadors are sent to Skyros to retrieve him.
The ambassadors from Agamemnon arrive on Skyros: Ulysses, disguised under the name of Antilochus, Phoenix and Nestor (a silent role). Ulysses asks Lycomedes to contribute military help to the expedition, to which he readily agrees; he then demands that Lycomedes surrender the young Achilles, rumoured to be concealed on the island and essential to the Greek victory. Loyal to his friend Peleus, Lycomedes denies that he is sheltering Achilles, but permits his guests to search for him.
Inside the palace, Deidamia waits longingly for her beloved Pyrrha to return from hunting. Pyrrha – Achilles in disguise – returns flushed with his exertions and rebukes the women for sitting idly indoors. The women leave Deidamia and Achilles together. Deidamia gently chides Achilles for being more in love with the chase than with her. Achilles admits that he loves her, but is not prepared to sacrifice his freedom.
Deidamia's confidante, the princess Nerea, brings news of the strangers arrived from mainland Greece in search of Achilles. Deidamia is immediately anxious on Achilles' behalf and a short conversation with Ulysses convinces her that they must be on their guard.
In the palace garden Achilles sees Deidamia talking to Ulysses and is fascinated by his armour and manliness. He listens to their conversations, as Ulysses now pays court to Deidamia in order to win her confidence, and Deidamia politely but firmly refuses him. Stung with jealousy, Achilles petulantly berates her for encouraging Ulysses' attention.
Nerea brings news that Lycomedes has arranged a hunt to entertain their guests. Deidamia is alarmed that Achilles' enthusiasm and hunting skill will betray his identity. But Nerea has also been courted by Phoenix and suggests that she and Deidamia distract the Greeks by appearing to respond to their addresses. Deidamia agrees, but begins to wonder whether Achilles' angry outburst covered a real resolution to abandon her.
Lycomedes recommends the hunting on his estate to Ulysses; he, however, is too old for such sports. The hunt begins, and Nerea attaches herself to Phoenix, gaily taunting him with being more interested in the hunt than in her. Ulysses has been watching 'Pyrrha' and now joins Phoenix: the strange girl's strength and skill in hunting have convinced him that 'she' is in fact Achilles in disguise. Finding an opportunity to draw 'Pyrrha' aside Ulysses begins a feigned declaration of love; Achilles is flattered and amused, and more so when he notices that Deidamia is in hearing. As soon as Ulysses leaves she furiously attacks Achilles for thoughtlessly risking exposure and their happiness.
Achilles shrugs off her anger and is about to rejoin the hunt when he is now stopped by Phoenix, who similarly engages him in conversation. Achilles' lack of interest in love convinces Phoenix that Ulysses was correct: 'Pyrrha' is in fact a man.
Phoenix tries to persuade Nerea that he is in earnest: as a Greek woman herself she should be proud, not jealous, that he is soon to leave for the Trojan war. Nerea realises that she should not let this opportunity slip through her fingers.
Ulysses and Phoenix put into practice a scheme to unmask Achilles. They present the women of the court with a chest of ribbons, fabrics and other finery. As Deidamia frantically urges Achilles to show a girlish interest in them, he instinctively reaches for a helmet, shield and sword cunningly placed amongst the trinkets. A call to arms sounds, and he brandishes the sword ready for action. He has betrayed himself, and Ulysses confronts him with his true identity, urging him to join the Greek force massing against Troy. Achilles enthusiastically agrees. Grief-stricken at the thought of losing him, Deidamia curses Ulysses for destroying her happiness.
Deidamia visits her father and confesses her love for Achilles. Though he blesses their love he tells her that it can last only until Achilles departs, and reveals the prediction that Achilles will die at Troy. Achilles, now at last dressed as a man, comes to Deidamia and proposes that they marry immediately, but her anger and distress at his imminent departure lead them into a quarrel. Ulysses pacifies them by revealing his own identity: he too has famously left his much-loved wife Penelope to go to war, to the greater glory of them both; he predicts that Achilles and Deidamia will achieve similar fame. Deidamia will not be comforted.
Nerea accuses Phoenix of feigning love purely to discover and abduct Achilles. He assures her that his love is genuine; he proposes, and she accepts him. They are joined by the others, Lycomedes now content to surrender Achilles to the Greek cause. Ulysses joins the hands of Deidamia and Achilles, and the final chorus encourages them, and us, to take our fleeting pleasures while we may. [3]
| Year | Cast: Deidamia, Nerea, Achille, Ulisse, Fenice, Licomede | Conductor, Orchestra, | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Julianne Baird, Máire O’Brien, D'Anna Fortunato, Brenda Harris, Peter Castaldi, John Cheek | Rudolph Palmer, Brewer Chamber Orchestra | CD: Albany Records Cat: TROY460 |
| 2012 | Simone Kermes, Dominique Labelle, Anna Maria Panzarella, Anna Bonitatibus, Furio Zanasi, Antonio Abete | Alan Curtis, Il Complesso Barocco | CD: Erato Records Cat: 4409262 [4] |
| Year | Cast: Deidamia, Nerea, Achille, Ulisse, Fenice, Licomede | Conductor, Orchestra, Stage director | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Sally Matthews, Veronica Cangemi, Olga Pasichnyk, Silvia Tro Santafé, Andrew Foster-Williams, Umberto Chiummo | Ivor Bolton, Concerto Köln, David Alden | DVD: Opus Arte Cat: OABD7110D |
In Greek mythology, Achilles or Achilleus was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and is the central character of Homer's Iliad. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, king of Phthia.
Odysseus, also known by the Latin variant Ulysses, is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in that same epic cycle.
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably Homer's Iliad. The core of the Iliad describes a period of four days and two nights in the tenth year of the decade-long siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid.
Thetis, is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, or one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus.
In Greek mythology, Peleus was a hero, king of Phthia, husband of Thetis and the father of their son Achilles. This myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BC.
In Greek mythology, Chiron was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs".
In Greek mythology, Phoenix was the son of king Amyntor, and a king of the Dolopians. Phoenix, on the urgings of his mother had sex with his father's concubine. Amyntor, discovering this, called upon the Erinyes to curse him with childlessness. In later accounts of the story, Phoenix was falsely accused by Amyntor's concubine, and blinded by his father, but Chiron restored his sight. Phoenix fled to Peleus, the king of Phthia, and Achilles' father, where Peleus made Phoenix a king of the Dolopians, and gave him the young Achilles to raise.
In Greek mythology, Telamon was the son of King Aeacus of Aegina, and Endeïs, a mountain nymph. The elder brother of Peleus, Telamon sailed alongside Jason as one of his Argonauts, and was present at the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. In the Iliad, he was the father of Greek heroes Ajax the Great and Teucer by different mothers. Some accounts mention a third son of his, Trambelus. He and Peleus were also close friends of Heracles, assisting him on his expeditions against the Amazons and his assault on Troy.
Neoptolemus, also called Pyrrhus, was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia, and brother of Oneiros in Greek mythology, and also the mythical progenitor of the ruling dynasty of the Molossians of ancient Epirus.
In Greek mythology, Lycomedes, also known as Lycurgus, was the most prominent king of the Dolopians in the island of Scyros near Euboea during the Trojan War.
In Greek mythology, Deidamia was a princess of Scyros as the daughter of King Lycomedes.
The Achilleid is an unfinished epic poem by Publius Papinius Statius that was intended to present the life of Achilles from his youth to his death at Troy. Only about one and a half books were completed before the poet's death. What remains is an account of the hero's early life with the centaur Chiron, and an episode in which his mother, Thetis, disguised him as a girl on the island of Scyros before he joined the Greek expedition against Troy.
The Death of Achilles is the fourth novel in the Erast Fandorin historical detective series by Boris Akunin. Its subtitle is детектив о наемном убийце. It was originally published in Russian in 1998; the English translation was released in 2006.
Ulysses is a 1954 fantasy-adventure film based on Homer's epic poem Odyssey. The movie was directed by Mario Camerini, who co-wrote the screenplay with writer Franco Brusati. The original choice for director was Georg Wilhelm Pabst but he quit at the last minute. The film's cinematographer Mario Bava co-directed the Polyphemus Cyclops segment (uncredited).
Achilles on Skyros is an episode in the myth of Achilles, a Greek hero of the Trojan War. Not existing in Homer's epic poem Iliad, the episode is written down in detail in some later versions of the story, particularly the Achilleid by the Roman poet Statius. The story of how Achilles disguised himself as a girl at the court of the king of Skyros, fell in love with one of the princesses, and married her before leaving for Troy, became a popular topic in arts and literature from Classical times until the middle of the 20th century. The carnavalesque disguises and gender transpositions at the heart of the story were particularly popular in opera, with over 30 different operas on the theme between 1641 and 1857.
La finta pazza is an opera composed by Francesco Sacrati to a libretto by Giulio Strozzi. Its premiere in Venice during the Carnival season of 1641 inaugurated the Teatro Novissimo. It became one of the most popular operas of the seventeenth century.
Achilles is a ballad opera by John Gay, first performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in 1733, a year after Gay's death, with Gay's associate John Rich as producer.
In Greek mythology, Deidamia was the name referring to the following women:
In Greek mythology, Pyrrha may refer to the following women:
Libretto in Italian/English of "Deidamia" https://www.naxosmusiclibrary.com/sharedfiles/booklets/ALY/booklet-TROY460.pdf
