Hercules – Georg Friedrich Handel

OPÉRA VERSION CONCERTANTE

Hercules – Georg Friedrich Handel

ABOUT

A monument to Greek tragedy, Sophocles' Trachinia immortalizes the timeless drama of marital jealousy. Hercules returns from the siege of Oechaly with a war hostage, the young Iole. Faced with the beautiful prisoner, Dejanira, wife of the hero, is driven by jealousy to kill the invincible Hercules with the poisoned tunic of the centaur Nessos. This plot inspired Handel to write a score of great inventiveness, which he premiered in London in 1745 in a concert version. Although the London audience, which was accustomed to oratorios, did not like the premiere, this musical tragedy contains some of Handel's most innovative pieces, such as the chorus "Jealousy infernal pest". Contrary to the claims of the reference edition, Hercules is not an oratorio. Handel always wanted it to be considered a musical drama, and thus an opera in English. In order to reinforce the dramatic tension and to give Hercules its operatic colors, David Stern proposes an interpretation based on the original manuscript and the reworkings that Handel made in 1749 and 1752.

Opera Fuoco & David Stern premiered this version with the Chamber Choir of Namur at the Opéra de Massy in May, 2024, just before the Olympics Games, to honor the greatest hero of all times.

ARTISTS

David Stern - Musical direction

Edwin Crossley-Mercer – Hercules

Ancien.nes solistes de l’Atelier Lyrique Opera Fuoco

Caroline Meng – Déjanira

Guy Elliott – Hyllus

Iryna Kyshliaruk – Iole

Opera Fuoco Orchestra (25 musicians)

Namur Chamber Choir (17 singers)