Handel (1685-1759) - Semele : Guthrie, John Eliot Gardiner / English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, L.Alder, Hymas, Richardot, Vistoli, Buratto, etc (2019) - Import Blu-ray Disc

Color: Colour

Credits:

Aleksander Debicz & Lukasz Kuropaczewski with Jakub Jozef Orlinski

Description:

Handel's "Semele" by Gardiner, winner of the 58th "Recording Academy Prize" Grand Silver Award in the Vocal Music category, is now available on BD and DVD! A brilliant and moving masterpiece created by a masterful interpretation! Handel's "Semele" by Gardiner, winner of the 58th "Recording Academy Awards" Grand Silver Award for Best Voice, is now available on Blu-ray and DVD! Japanese subtitles are included! Gardiner has not performed "Semele" since recording it in 1981, and this 2019 tour is the first time he has taken it up in quite some time. Louise Alder, one of England's most celebrated singers, takes the title role, with young tenor Hugo Hymas as the amorous Hupiter. The London performance at the Alexandra Palace was a sell-out, and the audience was thrilled to be there. Semele" was written as an oratorio, but it is different from the oratorios of the time, which were based on biblical themes and were often performed in a quiet manner. It is based on a myth, but with a dramatic script filled with secular love and hate, and is capable of being performed as a complete opera. In this live performance, the orchestra is also on stage, and the singers perform with acting. The costumes were gorgeous, and the stage looked fresh as if the orchestra and conductor had entered together on the opera stage.The arias are full of variety and charm, ranging from technical aziritas to dreamy, beautiful melodies, and the chorus plays an important role in strengthening the story, while the orchestra gives the music a lively shape. Gardiner's conducting brought all of these together beautifully, and the music resonated with a beautiful transparency and a strong core of power, with no hesitation. Gardiner said, "It has been nearly 40 years since we recorded 'Semele' before, and the times have finally caught up with this avant-garde work," and during this time, Gardiner's interpretation has also been further refined and made more brilliant. The story of "Semele" is based on Ovidius' "Metamorphoses." Semele, a human woman, falls in love with the god Jupiter and is taken to the heavenly realm, where she is violently envied by Euno, Jupiter's wife. Yuno lies to Semele that she can become an immortal god if she sees Jupiter's true form, and makes Jupiter dream lust-inducing dreams. Then Jupiter rushes to Semele and begs her to meet him now, swearing by the waters of Styx and Mount Olympus that he will do anything she says. Naturally, Semele asks to see him in his true form, and Jupiter, unable to disobey his sacred oath, sadly but unavoidably does so. It was Yuno's trap, for if a flesh-and-blood mortal were to see Jupiter's true form as the God of Thunder, he would instantly be consumed by its flames.Semele, however, left behind a divine child, who later became the god Bacchus. The composition of this baroque opera, with its complex relationships on earth, adds depth to the music, and the arias that skillfully depict the emotions of the characters strike a chord with the audience. King International Inc.