Title Semele / [an opera composed by John Eccles ; to a libretto by William Congreve] ; Julian Perkins, conductor, performer

Published [Cambridge, England] : Academy of Ancient Music, 2020 ©2020

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Description 1 online resource (1 audio file) Contents Overture (taken from Eccles' Rinaldo and Armida, 1699) (1:00) -- Act I. Scene 1. Behold auspicious flashes rise / Chief Priest (1:34) -- Lucky omens bless our rites (taken from From This Happy Day, in Eccles' Birthday Ode for 1703, used as basis for reconstruction) / Second Priest and Chief Priest (:50) -- Daughter, obey, hear, and obey / Cadmus and Athamas (:53) -- Ah me! What refuge now is left me? / Semele (:29) -- See, she blushing turns her eyes / Athamas (2:47) -- Hymen haste, thy torch prepare / Athamas (2:16) -- Alas! She yields, and has undone me / Ino, Athamas and Semele (1:35) -- Why dost thou thus untimely grieve? / Cadmus, Ino, Athamas and Semele (1:18) -- Symphony (1:47) -- Avert these omens, all ye pow'rs! / Athamas (:19) -- Avert these omens, all ye pow'rs! / Chief Priest, Second Priest, Third Priest (:39) -- Again auspicious flashes rise / Chief Priest, Second Priest, Athamas and Semele (1:00) -- Symphony (1:16) -- Cease your vows / Chief Priest (:11) -- Scene 2. O Athamas, what torture hast thou born! / Athamas (:34) -- Turn, hopeless lover, turn thy eyes / Ino (:54) -- She weeps! / Athamas (2:45) -- Such unavailing mercy is in beauty found / Athamas (:20) -- Ah me, too much afflicted! / Ino and Athamas (1:05) -- You've undone me / Ino and Athamas (2:17) -- Scene 3. Ah, wretched prince, doom'd to disastrous love! / Cadmus, Athamas and Ino (2:14) -- Scene 4. See, see, Jove's priests and holy augurs come / Cadmus (1:56) -- Hail, Cadmus, hail! / Chief Priest, First Augur, Second Augur (:12) -- Endless pleasure, endless love / First Augur (1:40) -- Haste, haste, to sacrifice prepare / Chief Priest (1:49) -- Cease your mourning / Priests and Augurs (:58) -- Act II. Scene 1. Symphony (2:27) -- Iris, impatient of thy stay / Juno and Iris (1:02) -- There from mortal cares retiring / Iris (1:27) -- Thither Flora the fair / Iris (2:00) -- No more -- I'll hear no more / Juno (2:49) -- Not one of curst Agenor's race I'll spare / Juno (1:21) -- Hear, mighty queen / Iris and Juno (:30) -- Scene 2. See, after the toils of an amorous fight / Cupid (1:39) -- Come zephyrs, come, while cupid sings / Cupid (2:44) -- Dance of the zephyrs (taken from Eccles' A Sett of Aires Made for The Queen's Coronation, movement 8) (1:25) -- O sleep, why dost thou leave me? / Semele (:56) -- Scene 3. Sleep forsaking / Cupid (:56) -- Let me not another moment / Semele (1:42) -- Lay thy doubts and fears aside / Jupiter (:18) -- Nor was I absent / Jupiter (3:11) -- If cheerful hopes / Semele (:20) -- If this be love, not you alone / Semele and Jupiter (3:01) -- Ah me!/Why sighs my Semele? / Semele and Jupiter (1:13) -- With my frailty don't upbraid me / Semele (2:26) -- Thy sex of Jove's the masterpiece / Jupiter and Semele (1:41) -- Thy needless fears remove / Jupiter (1:20) -- By my command / Jupiter and Semele (1:07) -- Scene 4. Symphony (taken from Eccles' Rinaldo and Armida, 1699) (1:47) Act III. Scene 1. Symphony (1:09) -- Somnus, awake / Juno and Iris (:38) -- Leave me, loathsome light / Somnus (2:56) -- Dull God, can'st thou attend the waters fall / Iris and Juno (:27) -- Only love on sleep has pow'r / Juno and Iris (2:17) -- Somnus, arise / Juno (:29) -- More sweet is that name / Somnus (2:00) -- My will obey / Juno and Somnus (1:48) -- Away let us haste / Juno and Somnus (1:18) -- Scene 2. I love and am lov'd / Semele (2:33) -- Thus shaped like Ino / Juno and Semele (1:03) -- Behold in this mirrour / Juno (1:11) -- O ecstasy of happiness! / Semele (:54) -- Ah charming all o'er! / Semele (:36) -- Be wise as you are beautiful / Juno and Semele (:23) -- Unknowing your intent / Juno (1:47) -- But how shall I attain to immortality / Semele and Juno (1:23) -- Thus let my thanks be paid / Semele (1:23) -- Rich odours fill the fragrant air / Juno and Semele (:37) -- Scene 4. Come to my arms, my lovely fair / Jupiter (2:50) -- Tho' 'tis easie to please you / Semele (:56) -- When I languish with anguish / Jupiter (:42) -- I dare not/Ah fear not / Semele and Jupiter (:42) -- Oh Semele, why art thou thus insensible? / Jupiter (:15) -- I ever am granting / Semele (:32) -- Speak, speak your desire / Jupiter (:38) -- Swear by the Stygian Lake / Semele and Jupiter (:26) -- Then cast off this human shape which you wear / Semele (1:31) -- Ah! take heed what you press / Jupiter (1:39) -- I'll be pleas'd with no less / Semele (:30) -- Scene 5. Ah! Whither is she gone! / Jupiter (2:02) -- Scene 6. Above measure is the pleasure / Juno (2:08) -- Scene 7. Symphony (1:40) -- Ah me! too late I now repent / Semele (:50) -- Symphony (:14) -- Scene 8. Of my ill-boding dream / Ino, Cadmus and Athamas (1:56) -- Scene 9. Apollo comes to relieve your care / Apollo (:58) -- From tyrannous love / Apollo (:59) -- Then mortals be merry / Apollo (:59) -- Then mortals be merry / Chorus (1:43) Notes Eccles' opera premiered around 1707. Julian Perkins conducts the Academy of Ancient Music Libretto by William Congreve Performer Academy of Ancient Music ; Cambridge Handel Opera Company ; Julian Perkins, harpsichord, director, conductor ; Bojan C̆ic̆ić, violin, leader ; Timothy Amherst, violone ; Jonathan Rees, bass violin ; Elin White, Iona Davies, Sijie Chen, Davina Clarke, Liz McCarthy, Bill Thorp, Emilia Benjamin, Jonathan Rees, Gavin Kibble, violins ; Jane Rogers, Jordan Bowron, Carmen Maria Martinez, violas ; William Carter, theorbo, guitar ; Reiko Ichise, bass viol ; Peter Holman, harpsichord ; Elaine So, thunder sheet Gods: Richard Burkhard (Jupiter, King of the Gods), baritone voice ; Helen Charlston (Juno, Queen of the Gods), mezzo-soprano voice ; Héloïse Bernard (Iris, handmaid to Juno), soprano voice ; Bethany Horak-Hallett (Cupid, God of Love), mezzo-soprano voice ; Christopher Foster (Somnus, God of Sleep), bass voice ; Jolyon Loy (Apollo, Sun God and God of Prophecy), baritone voice Mortals: Jonathan Brown (Cadmus, King of Thebes), baritone voice ; Anna Dennis (Semele, daughter of Cadmus), soprano voice ; Aoife Miskelly (Ino, sister of Semele), soprano voice ; William Wallace (Athamas, a prince of Boeotia), tenor voice ; Graeme Broadbent (Chief Priest), bass voice ; Rory Carver (Second Priest, First Augur), tenor voice ; James Rhoads (Third Priest, Second Augur), tenor voice Event Recorded St. Jude-on-the-Hill, London, England 2019 Notes Hard copy version record Subject Operas. Operas. Genre/Form Streaming audio Operas. Operas. Form Streaming audio Author Perkins, Julian, 1977- conductor Congreve, William, 1670-1729, librettist Burkhard, Richard, performer Charlston, Helen, performer Bernard, Héloïse, performer Horak-Hallett, Bethany, performer Foster, Christopher (Bass), performer Loy, Jolyon, performer Brown, Jonathan (Baritone), performer Dennis, Anna, performer Miskelly, Aoife, performer Wallace, William, performer Broadbent, Graeme, 1962- performer Carver, Rory, performer Rhoads, James, performer Academy of Ancient Music (1973- ). Classical Chamber Ensemble, performer Cambridge Handel Opera Company, performer

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