Handel: Semele Chœur de Chambre de Namur, Millenium Orchestra & Leonardo García Alarcón

• Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 - 1759): Semele, HWV 58:
• 1Handel: Semele, HWV 58: Overture04:33
• Act I:
• 2Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 1, Behold! Auspicious Flashes Rise (Priest)01:20
• 3Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 2, Lucky Omens Bless Our Rites (Chorus of Priests)03:39
• 4Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 3, Daughter, Obey, Hear and Obey! (Cadmus, Athamas)01:09
• 5Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 4, Ah Me! What Refuge Now is Left Me? (Semele)01:05
• 6Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 5, Oh Jove! in Pity Teach Me (Semele)02:06
• 7Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 6, The Morning Lark To Mine Accords (Semele)07:10
• 8Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 7, See, She Blushing Turns Her Eyes (Athamas)00:18
• 9Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 8, Hymen, Haste! (Athamas) 04:52
• 10Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 9, Alas! She Yields (Ino, Athamas, Semele)00:49
• 11Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 10, Why Dost Thou Thus Untimely Grieve (Semele, Ino, Athamas, Cadmus)02:32
• 12Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 11, Avert These Omens (Chorus of Priests)01:54
• 13Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 12, Again Auspicious Flashes Rise (Cadmus)00:42
• 14Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 13, Thy Aid, Pronubial Juno, Athamas Implores! (Athamas, Semele)00:19
• 15Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 14, Cease, Cease Your Vow's (Chorus of Priests)00:38
• 16Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 15, O Athamas, What Torture Hast Thou Borne! (Ino)00:27
• 17Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 16, Turn, Hopeless Lover (Ino)08:45
• 18Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 17, She Weeps! The Gentle Maid in Tender Pity (Athamas)00:33
• 19Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 18, Your Tuneful Voice My Tale Would Tell (Athamas)05:24
• 20Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 19, Too Well I See, Thou Wilt not Understand Me! (Ino, Athamas)00:55
• 21Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 20, Air (Andante Larghetto):You've Undone Me, Look not On Me (Ino, Athamas)02:24
• 22Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 21, Ah, Wretched Prince (Cadmus, Athamas)00:40
• 23Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 22, Wing'd With Our Fears and Pious Haste (Cadmus)01:08
• 24Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 23, O Prodigy, to Me of Dire Portent! (Athamas, Ino)00:11
• 25Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 24, See, See! Jove's Priests and Holy Augurs Come (Cadmus)00:17
• 26Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 25, Hail Cadmus, Hail! (Chorus of Priests and Augurs)01:35
• 27Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 26, Endless Pleasure, Endless Love (Semele)02:52
• 28Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act I: No. 27, Endless Pleasure, Endless Love (Chorus of Priests and Augurs)02:09
• Act II:
• 29Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 1, Iris, Impatient of Thy Stay (Juno, Iris)00:50
• 30Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 2, There, From Mortal Cares Retiring (Iris)03:32
• 31Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 3, No More! I'll Hear No More! (Juno)00:06
• 32Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 4, Awake, Saturnia, From Thy Lethargy! (Juno, Iris)02:04
• 33Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 5, Hence, Hence, Iris, Hence Away (Juno)03:28
• 34Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 6, O Sleep, Why Dost Thou Leave Me? (Semele)03:06
• 35Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 7, Come, Zephyrs, Come (Cupid)05:23
• 36Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 8, Let Me not Another Moment (Semele)00:24
• 37Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 9, Lay Your Doubts and Fears Aside (Jupiter)03:09
• 38Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 10, You Are Mortal (Jupiter)00:26
• 39Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 11, With Fond Desiring (Semele)03:09
• 40Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 12, How Engaging, How Endearing (Chorus of Loves and Zephyrs)03:18
• 41Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 13, Ah Me! Why Sighs My Semele? (Semele, Jupiter)01:26
• 42Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 14, I Must With Speed Amuse Her (Jupiter)04:03
• 43Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 15, Now Love That Everlasting Boy Invites (Chorus of Loves and Zephyrs)02:19
• 44Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 16, By My Command Now (Jupiter, Semele)01:30
• 45Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 17, Where'er You Walk, Cool Gales Shall Fan the Glade (Jupiter)04:25
• 46Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 18, Dear Sister, How Was Your Passage Hither? (Semele, Ino) 00:49
• 47Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 19, But Hark! the Heav'nly Sphere Turns Round (Ino)02:03
• 48Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 20, Prepare Then, Ye Immortal Choir! (Ino, Semele)01:52
• 49Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act II: No. 21, Bless the Glad Earth With Heav'nly Lays (Chorus of Nymphs)02:52
• Act III:
• 50Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 1, Larghetto e piano per tutto01:18
• 51Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 2, Somnus, Awake! (Juno, Iris)00:27
• 52Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 3, Leave Me, Loathsome Light! (Somnus)03:36
• 53Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 4, Dull God, Canst Thou Attend the Water's Fall (Iris, Juno)00:42
• 54Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 5, More Sweet is That Name (Somnus)02:05
• 55Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 6, My Will Obey, She Shall Be Thine (Juno, Somnus)01:21
• 56Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 7, Obey My Will, Thy Rod Resign (Juno, Somnus)01:56
• 57Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 8, Thus Shap'd Like Ino, With Ease I Shall Deceive Her (Juno, Semele)01:42
• 58Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 9, Behold in This Mirrour (Juno)02:51
• 59Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 10, Myself I Shall Adore (Semele)07:05
• 60Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 11, Be Wise, as You Are Beautiful (Juno, Semele)00:31
• 61Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 12, Conjure Him by His Oath (Juno)01:15
• 62Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 13, Thus Let My Thanks Be Paid (Semele)02:45
• 63Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 14, Rich Odours Fill the Fragrant Air (Juno, Semele)00:29
• 64Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 15, Come to My Arms, My Lovely Fair (Jupiter)03:41
• 65Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 16, O Semele! Why Art Thou Thus Insensible? (Jupiter)00:24
• 66Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 17, By That Tremendous Flood (Jupiter) 00:27
• 67Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 18, You'll Grant What I Require? (Semele, Jupiter)00:14
• 68Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 19, Then Cast off This Human Shape (Semele)00:15
• 69Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 20, Ah! Take Heed What You Press! (Jupiter)01:22
• 70Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 21, No, No, I'll Take No Less (Semele)06:42
• 71Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 22, Ah, Whither Is She Gone! (Jupiter)02:01
• 72Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 23, Above Measure Is the Pleasure (Juno) 02:08
• 73Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 24, Ah Me! Too Late I Now Repent (Semele)03:23
• 74Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 25, Of My Illiboding Dream (Ino)00:19
• 75Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 26, Oh Terror and Astonishment! (Chorus of Priests)04:54
• 76Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 27, How I Was Hence Remov'd (Ino, Cadmus, Athamas)00:58
• 77Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 28, See From Above (Cadmus)00:17
• 78Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 29, Apollo Comes (Apollo)00:48
• 79Handel: Semele, HWV 58, Act III: No. 30, Happy, Happy Shall We Be (Chorus of Priests)03:11
• Total Runtime02:49:47

Info for Handel: Semele

Semele is a masterpiece. For what else can one call a drama in which the perfect symbiosis of text and music conjures up such suggestive power? ‘To hold the mind, the ears and the eyes equally spellbound’: this recommendation by La Bruyère (Les Caractères: ‘Les ouvrages de l'esprit’) refers to the ‘machine plays’ so adored by the public in the Baroque period. But even without machinery or indeed without sets or real staging, Handel’s oratorio involves us in the tragic fate of his heroine with supreme skill.

It is well known, Jupiter is a womanizer ... and it will cost Semele to try to resist his charms!

Adapted from Ovid's Metamorphoses, Handel's Sémélé is on the border between opera and oratorio.

With Sémélé, Handel succumbs to the temptation to write an English opera. Composed in 1743 and premiered in 1744 at the Covent Garden Theater, the work remains one of Georg Friedrich Handel's finest lyrical pages. The libretto, written by Newburgh Hamilton on texts by William Congreve, recounts the loves of Semele, mother of Dionysus, and Jupiter, the latter capturing her in the form of an eagle. This is to forget a little quickly, on the part of Almighty God, the anger of his wife Juno, who will use all her magic to make the romance fail. An opera or secular oratorio, the work contains a number of sensual and charming amorous scenes and arias (including the magnificent "Endless pleasure, endless love").

Ana Maria Labin, soprano
Matthew Newlin, tenor
Dara Savinoya, mezzo-soprano
Chiara Skerath, soprano
Lawrence Zazzo, countertenor
Andreas Wolf, bass
Choeur de Chambre de Namur
Millenium Orchestra
Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, musical direction

Chœur de Chambre de Namur
Since its creation in 1987, the Chamber Choir of Namur has promoted the musical heritage of its region of origin through concerts and recordings of works by Lassus, Rogier, Hayne, Du Mont, Fiocco, Gossec, Grétry, while also taking on great works from the choral repertoire.

Invited to perform at the most renowned festivals in Europe, The Chamber Choir of Namur regularly sings under the direction of prestigious choral directors such as Ottavio Dantone, Peter Phillips, Christophe Rousset, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Jérémie Rohrer & Richard Egarr.

The Choir has made a number of critically acclaimed recordings (nominations at the Victoires de la Musique Classique, Choc de Classica, Diapason d’Or, Joker de Crescendo, 4F de Télérama, Editor’s Choice of Gramophone, ICMA and the Prix Caecilia of the Belgian Press). It was awarded the Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros in 2003, the Prix de l’Académie Française in 2006, the Octave de la Musique in 2007 and in 2012 the Chamber Choir of Namur won in the categories of ‘Classical Music’ and ‘Show of the Year.’

In 2010, the artistic direction of the Chamber Choir of Namur was entrusted to the young Argentinian choral director, Leonardo García Alarcón. In 2016, the Chamber Choir of Namur took part in its first stage production at the Paris Opera (Cavalli’s Eliogabalo), and in 2017 was in the cast of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie, in Liège, conducted by Guy Van Waas.

The 2017-2018 season was marked by the 30th anniversary of the Choir. Monteverdi’s Orfeo, performed in 2017, was the first celebration of this anniversary throughout Europe and South America. Highlights in 2018 included productions of Lully's Grands Motets, Veneziano's Passio del Venerdi Santo, Jacques Arcadelt's masses and motets and Handel's oratorio Samson, all conducted by Leonardo García Alarcón with various TV and CD recordings.

In 2019 the Namur Chamber Choir added further operas to its repertoire, including Handel’s Saul (Namur and Beaune), Lully’s Isis (Beaune, Paris and Versailles), and Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes at the Paris Opera. It has also created a new work by the Belgian composer Michel Fourgon.

The repertoire of the choir is very broad, ranging from the Middle Ages to contemporary music.

Leonardo García Alarcón
After studying piano in Argentina, Leonardo García Alarcón moved to Europe in 1997 and entered the Geneva Conservatory in the class of harpsichordist Christiane Jaccottet. It was under the aegis of Gabriel Garrido that he embarked on the Baroque adventure. He created his ensemble Cappella Mediterranea, a responsibility that he combined shortly afterwards with that of the Millenium Orchestra, which he founded to accompany the Namur Chamber Choir, of which he became artistic director in 2010. He divides his time between Geneva, where he teaches the class of Maestro al cembalo at the Haute Ecole de Musique, France, notably as a regular pillar of the Ambronay Festival and artist in residence at the Dijon Opera, Belgium, but also sporadic returns to his native South America. We owe him the rediscovery of Cavalli's operas: Elena and Erismena at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2013 and 2017, Eliogabalo, to open the 2016 Paris Opera season, Il Giasone in Geneva, Antonio Draghi's El Prometeo in 2018 at the Dijon Opera, and again in Dijon La Finta Pazza by Francesco Sacrati, the very first opera imported from Italy to Paris. As a conductor or harpsichordist, he is invited to festivals and concert halls all over the world. In 2018, he conducts Monteverdi's Orfeo in the staging of Sacha Walz at the Berlin Staatsoper. In 2019, he triumphed with Rameau's Les Indes Galantes at the Opéra Bastille on the occasion of the 350thanniversary of the Royal Academy of Music.

He was recognized as the best conductor in Forum Opéra's 2019 Palmarès. He is in residence at Radio France during the 2019-2020 season. In 2020, he conducted, among others, Alcina at the head of his ensemble Cappella Mediterranea in Nancy. But many of the projects initially planned for 2020 have been turned upside down. Leonardo García Alarcón adapts his concert programmes and takes an active part in virtual festivals before returning to public concerts whenever possible. In December 2020, the Rossi’s opera Il Palazzo Incantato is maintained at the Opéra de Dijon, despite of the absence of the public, and its video recording, that was broadcast online, was a great success.

His discography is unanimously acclaimed by critics. In 2016, Leonardo García Alarcón recorded for Alpha Classic I 7 Peccati Capitali: an imaginary programme of Monteverdi arias, hailed by the press. In 2018, Joan Manuel Serrat's recording De vez en cuando la vida and a box set dedicated to Jacques Arcadelt were released, winning numerous awards. Critics hailed the release of El Prometeo in which he composed the 3rd act, the original score having disappeared. In March 2021 was released on Sony classical Rebirth, the collaboration of Leonardo García Alarcón and the soprano Sonya Yoncheva. 3 other albums will be published this year: Lamenti & Sospiri, a collection of madrigals by Sigismondo d’India with the sopranos Mariana Flores and Julie Roset, on Ricercar, then for Alpha classics Monteverdi’s Orfeo, and finally Le violon selon Bach with the violinist Chouchane Siranossian.

Booklet for Handel: Semele