Semele, or Thyone in Greek mythology, was the youngest daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, and the mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths.
Paul Abraham Dukas was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His best-known work is the orchestral piece The Sorcerer's Apprentice, the fame of which has eclipsed that of his other surviving works. Among these are the opera Ariane et Barbe-bleue, his Symphony in C and Piano Sonata in E-flat minor, the Variations, Interlude and Finale on a Theme by Rameau, and a ballet, La Péri.
John Eccles was an English composer.
Semele is a 'musical drama', originally presented "after the manner of an oratorio", in three parts by George Frideric Handel. Based on an existing opera libretto by William Congreve, the work is an opera in all but name but was first presented in concert form at Covent Garden theatre on 10 February 1744. The story comes from Ovid's Metamorphoses and concerns Semele, mother of Bacchus. Handel also referred to the work as 'The Story of Semele'. The work contains the famous aria "Where'er you walk".
Semele is an opera by John Eccles, written in about 1706 with a libretto by William Congreve drawing on the Semele myth from Ovid's Metamorphoses. It forms part of the English opera tradition of Blow's Venus and Adonis, but was never staged due to changes in popular taste at the time. Indeed, the opera remained unperformed until the mid twentieth century, eclipsed by George Frideric Handel's 1744 secular oratorio of the same name, based on the same libretto.
Michael Chance CBE is an English countertenor and the founder and Artistic Director of The Grange Festival.
Amanda Forsythe is an American light lyric soprano who is particularly admired for her interpretations of baroque music and the works of Rossini. Forsythe has received continued critical acclaim from many publications including Opera News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe.
Harry Alexander Clarence Bicket is a British conductor, harpsichordist and organist. He is particularly associated with the baroque and classical repertoire.
Sémélé is an opera by Marin Marais with a libretto by Antoine Houdar de la Motte first performed on 9 April 1709, by the Paris Opera at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal. The opera is in the form of a tragédie en musique with a prologue and five acts.
Robin Blaze is a British countertenor.
The Judgment of Paris is an operatic libretto written by William Congreve. It was set by four British Baroque composers – John Weldon, John Eccles, Daniel Purcell and Gottfried Finger – as part of a music competition held in 1700-1701. Thomas Arne later composed a score to the libretto in 1742.
Al Ayre Español is a vocal and instrumental ensemble specialized on early music founded in 1988 by harpsichordist Eduardo López Banzo.
The Early Opera Company is a British ensemble dedicated to the performance of baroque operas using period instruments.
Rosemary Joshua is a Welsh soprano, particularly known for her performances in Handel's operas.
Iphigenia is a figure in Greek mythology.
Tim Mead is an English countertenor.
Knut Schoch is a German tenor in opera and concert as a specialist in the field of historically informed performance, and an academic voice teacher.
Wilke te Brummelstroete is a Dutch mezzo-soprano. She has recorded Bach cantatas with John Eliot Gardiner and appeared as the valkyrie Siegrune in Wagner's Die Walküre at the Bayreuth Festival.
Julian Perkins is a British conductor and keyboard player. Shortlisted for the Gramophone Award in 2021, he is Artistic Director of the Portland Baroque Orchestra in the USA. He lives in London, England and is also Founder Director of the early music ensemble Sounds Baroque and Artistic Director of Cambridge Handel Opera Company.
Christian Curnyn is a British conductor, harpsichordist and baroque music specialist.
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