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Arianna in Creta
Arianna in Creta ("Ariadne in Crete", HWV 32) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted by Francis Colman from Pietro Pariati's Arianna e Teseo, a text previously set by Nicola Porpora in 1727 and Leonardo Leo in 1729.
The opera was first given at the King's Theatre in London on 26 January 1734 and then presented in a revised version with dances added for Marie Sallé at Covent Garden Theatre on 27 November of the same year.
As with all Baroque opera seria, Arianna in Creta went unperformed for many years, but with the revival of interest in Baroque music and historically informed musical performance since the 1960s,Arianna in Creta, like all Handel operas, receives performances at festivals and opera houses today. Among other performances, Arianna in Creta was staged by the London Handel Festival in 2014 and performed in concert by the Handel Festival, Halle in 2018
Long before the action of the opera, King Minos of Crete fought a war with King Aegeus of Athens, who had killed Minos' baby son and carried away his baby daughter. The girl, however, had been brought up by an ally of Athens', King Archeus of Thebes, in the belief that she was his own child. Athens had to pay tribute to Crete as a term of ending the war – once every seven years seven Athenian youths and seven Athenian maidens had to be sent to Crete to be devoured by the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull monster that lurked in a labyrinth from which escape was all but impossible. The human sacrifice of Athenians can only be ended by a hero slaying the Minotaur and defeating the Cretan warrior Tauride. The Athenian hero Teseo is on the way to Crete, resolved to do this and end his peoples' suffering, and to join with Arianna, whom he loves, and whom Minos has demanded as a hostage to ensure that the Athenian young people will be sent for sacrifice.
The Athenians embark in Crete, alongside a stone tablet with the terms of the Athenian tribute inscribed on it. King Minos agrees to Teseo's request that Arianna be freed. Among the Athenian maidens sent to be sacrificed is Carilda, whose beauty is noticed by the Cretan champion Tauride; he instantly falls in love with her. Carilda is however secretly in love with Teseo and is interested in neither Tauride or the Athenian youth Alceste, who is also in love with Carilda. Teseo tells his beloved Arianna that he is determined to slay the Minotaur, making her fear for his safety, and also tells Alceste, who wants to rescue Carilda from a cruel death, that he is more fitted for the task.
In the temple of Jupiter, King Minos orders Alceste to draw the name of the first victim from an urn. Alceste is distressed when the name he draws from the vessel is that of his beloved Carilda. Teseo offers to go into the labyrinth to meet the Minotaur in her place, which Minos accepts, but makes Arianna jealous, believing Teseo must be doing this out of love for Carilda.
In a wood, Teseo ponders whether he should continue with his plan to try to kill the Minotaur, or refrain out of consideration to his beloved Arianna. He falls asleep, and has a vision of his destiny as the liberator of his people from cruel suffering. When he awakes, all indecision has been removed from his mind – he is determined to kill the monster. Alceste, like Arianna, is concerned that Teseo is acting out of love for Carilda, but Teseo assures him that he will never love anyone but Arianna and reveals to Alceste that Arianna is really the daughter of King Minos, but neither she nor the King know it.
Arianna overhears a conversation between Minos and the Cretan champion Tauride – to succeed, Teseo will have to slit the Minotaur's throat, find his way out of the labyrinth by using a ball of string to mark the way, and subdue Tauride in spite of his magic belt which gives him superhuman strength. Though still distressed by the thought that Teseo is attempting this to rescue Carilda whom he loves, Arianna passes this information on to Teseo.
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Arianna in Creta
Arianna in Creta ("Ariadne in Crete", HWV 32) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted by Francis Colman from Pietro Pariati's Arianna e Teseo, a text previously set by Nicola Porpora in 1727 and Leonardo Leo in 1729.
The opera was first given at the King's Theatre in London on 26 January 1734 and then presented in a revised version with dances added for Marie Sallé at Covent Garden Theatre on 27 November of the same year.
As with all Baroque opera seria, Arianna in Creta went unperformed for many years, but with the revival of interest in Baroque music and historically informed musical performance since the 1960s,Arianna in Creta, like all Handel operas, receives performances at festivals and opera houses today. Among other performances, Arianna in Creta was staged by the London Handel Festival in 2014 and performed in concert by the Handel Festival, Halle in 2018
Long before the action of the opera, King Minos of Crete fought a war with King Aegeus of Athens, who had killed Minos' baby son and carried away his baby daughter. The girl, however, had been brought up by an ally of Athens', King Archeus of Thebes, in the belief that she was his own child. Athens had to pay tribute to Crete as a term of ending the war – once every seven years seven Athenian youths and seven Athenian maidens had to be sent to Crete to be devoured by the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull monster that lurked in a labyrinth from which escape was all but impossible. The human sacrifice of Athenians can only be ended by a hero slaying the Minotaur and defeating the Cretan warrior Tauride. The Athenian hero Teseo is on the way to Crete, resolved to do this and end his peoples' suffering, and to join with Arianna, whom he loves, and whom Minos has demanded as a hostage to ensure that the Athenian young people will be sent for sacrifice.
The Athenians embark in Crete, alongside a stone tablet with the terms of the Athenian tribute inscribed on it. King Minos agrees to Teseo's request that Arianna be freed. Among the Athenian maidens sent to be sacrificed is Carilda, whose beauty is noticed by the Cretan champion Tauride; he instantly falls in love with her. Carilda is however secretly in love with Teseo and is interested in neither Tauride or the Athenian youth Alceste, who is also in love with Carilda. Teseo tells his beloved Arianna that he is determined to slay the Minotaur, making her fear for his safety, and also tells Alceste, who wants to rescue Carilda from a cruel death, that he is more fitted for the task.
In the temple of Jupiter, King Minos orders Alceste to draw the name of the first victim from an urn. Alceste is distressed when the name he draws from the vessel is that of his beloved Carilda. Teseo offers to go into the labyrinth to meet the Minotaur in her place, which Minos accepts, but makes Arianna jealous, believing Teseo must be doing this out of love for Carilda.
In a wood, Teseo ponders whether he should continue with his plan to try to kill the Minotaur, or refrain out of consideration to his beloved Arianna. He falls asleep, and has a vision of his destiny as the liberator of his people from cruel suffering. When he awakes, all indecision has been removed from his mind – he is determined to kill the monster. Alceste, like Arianna, is concerned that Teseo is acting out of love for Carilda, but Teseo assures him that he will never love anyone but Arianna and reveals to Alceste that Arianna is really the daughter of King Minos, but neither she nor the King know it.
Arianna overhears a conversation between Minos and the Cretan champion Tauride – to succeed, Teseo will have to slit the Minotaur's throat, find his way out of the labyrinth by using a ball of string to mark the way, and subdue Tauride in spite of his magic belt which gives him superhuman strength. Though still distressed by the thought that Teseo is attempting this to rescue Carilda whom he loves, Arianna passes this information on to Teseo.