Apollo e Dafne
TITLE
Apollo e Dafne
ABOUT
In this chamber program, Fuoco Obbligato highlights the splendid use by Handel and his contemporaries of arias with obbligato instruments. Amore's first aria in Johann Joseph Fux's opera Dafne in Lauro, composed five years after Apollo e Dafne, replaces the lost overture to Handel's magnificent work, precursor of his immense operatic oeuvre. In it Cupid boasts of his irresistible powers which are reenforced by the solo cello line. He is then challenged by Apollo, who asserts at the start of Handel's dramatic cantata that his weapons are more powerful than the arrows of this winged foe. As the story unfolds, Apollo's pursuit of the beautiful nymph Dafne brings us face to face with the contemporary problem of unbalanced, non-consensual relationships. In the duet A war rages in my breast, Dafne expresses her refusal to be abused in this way, as well as her unshakeable allegiance to the chaste goddess Diana. Although they share the same melody, their feelings and words could not be more discordant. In order to be saved from Apollo's advances, Dafne is transformed into a laurel tree, losing both her form and her voice. Apollo pays tribute to the beautiful nymph in his sentimental final lament, and declares that he will crown the greatest heroes with her laurels. To conclude Fuoco Obbligato’s rendition of Ovid‘s myth, a second aria from the opera Dafne in Lauro finally offers us a moral and the fiery Amore returns to the stage with an aria full of mischievous exchanges between oboe and violin, during which he concedes, in a brief but heartfelt adagio, that despite his many tricks, it is virtue that has the greatest value.
CREATIVE TEAM
Katharina Wolff & David Stern - Artistic Direction
ARTISTS
Iryna Kyshliaruk – Soprano
Jennifer Courcier – Soprano
Olivier Gourdy- Bass-Baritone
Guillaume Cuiller – Oboe
Katharina Wolff - Violin
Jérôme Huille - Cello
Kenneth Weiss - Harpsichord
PROGRAM
JohannJoseph FUX, Dafne in Lauro « Non v’è cor che del mio foco »
Georg Friedrich HANDEL, Cantate Apollo e Dafne HXV 122
Johann Joseph FUX, Dafne in Lauro « Io sò con cento frodi »