HWV 58 (I/19: music volume with critical report), edited by Mark Risinger, Kassel 2020
After his return from Dublin and the premiere of “Samson,” HWV 57, which took place in February 1743, Handel began working on the June 3, 1743, with the composition of “Semele,” which he performed on the July 4 of the same year. Similar to “Hercules,” HWV 60, “Semele” meets neither the genre criteria of opera nor oratorio. In the libretti, “Semele” was therefore titled “The Story of Semele”; the “London Daily Post” announced the performance of “SEMELE. After the manner of an Oratorio”. The latter designation does not do justice to “Semele” in the implied devaluation of the composition. It is advisable to look at “Hercules” with regard to terminology: Handel used the term “A New Musical Drama” here. It is a compromise made in consideration of the far less applicable alternatives to apply the term “musical drama” to “Semele” as well.
Even before the premiere, Handel composed the originally intended for a tenor
part of Athamas completely new. In the course of this revision, the first act in particular experienced
massive interventions. The early version can be largely reconstructed. The first performance of “Semele” took place at Covent Garden Theatre in London on February 10, 1744. Singing were soprano La Francesina (Semele), tenor John Beard (Jupiter, Apollo), countertenor Daniel Sullivan (Athamas), altos Esther Young (Juno, Ino) and Christina Maria Avolio (Iris), and bass Henry Theodore Reinhold (Cadmus, High Priest, Somnus). A second series of performances in December 1744 took place without Daniel Sullivan, as the part of Athamas was again sung by a tenor. Further, numerous recitatives and arias indicate that Ino, and possibly Juno, were sung by soprano Catherine “Citty” Clive.
“Semele” was not performed after December 1744 during Handel’s lifetime. The
There are only a few copies of “Semele” in later works by Handel; the chorus no. 16 and the related nos. 17 (aria) and 18 (chorus), which were performed with adapted text in the late revival of “Susanna,” HWV 66, in 1759, deserve special mention. After Handel’s death, there is evidence of the first revival in 1762.
The present edition of the HHA presents the three Handel works that can be traced back to his lifetime.
Versions of “Semele”. The reconstruction of the late version, which was performed in December 1744, is considerably more difficult than that of the early version: In several cases, the corresponding insertions for Athamas in the tenor are missing from the production score, and it can only be assumed on the basis of comparable existing numbers that the early version was used. In the few cases in which even the early version has survived only in fragments, it has not been possible to reconstruct either appendix in its entirety. One of the special editorial challenges was the discovery of the first performance version, which is not complete either in the autograph or in the director’s score. The secondary sources, most of which are based on a copy of the autograph made independently of the director’s score, offered solutions to several editorial problems.
(Source: Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz, Annual Report Hallische Händel-Ausgabe 2020)