Semele is arguably the greatest comic opera to have been composed to an English text. Congreve is one of the greatest of the Restoration playwrights, with works such as The Double Dealer and The Way of the World among the masterpieces of the genre. The text of Semele was initially written for John Eccles, a successful contemporary of Purcell, and had been around for several decades before Handel chose it for a comic work to be performed ''in the manner of an oratorio''. Anything less solemn could scarcely be imagined.
This was a highly ambitious piece for the students of ESO to tackle. The fourth performance was packed out with an enthusiastic crowd. The performance was thoroughly enjoyable, with a sweet-toned soprano in the title role and a near-heroic tenor as Jupiter. The roles of Juno and Ino, as well as Cadmus and Somnus, are usually taken by a single soloist, but the company was able to cast separate performers for the four characters, which worked well.
There was a time when the introduction to Jupiter's great solo ''Where e'er you walk'' would have been greeted with sighs of recognition from an audience, as it used to be included among the volumes of classic British songs learned by generations of schoolchildren in days of yore. The fact that it was received in complete silence confirmed that the audience was almost entirely youthful, and completely unaware of this vital element of our cultural history.
Cast details to be confirmed. An excellent and detailed plot synopsis was available, but no cast list. Perhaps in future appropriate information could be included.
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