''Almira, Königin von Castilien'' ("Almira, Queen of Castile", HWV 1; full title: ''Der in Krohnen erlangte Glücks-Wechsel, oder: Almira, Königin von Castilien'') is

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

's first

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

, composed when he was 19 years old. It was first performed in Hamburg in January 1705.

Background

Handel came to the city of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

in the summer of 1703 and played as a violinist in the theatre at the ''Gänsemarkt'', the local market place. On later occasions, he also played the harpsichord in the orchestra. His first opera – announced as a ''

Singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk-like ...

'' although it has no spoken dialogue – was premiered on 8 January 1705, after being composed in the months directly preceding this. An Italian

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

was written by Giulio Pancheri in

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in 1691 for Giuseppe Benevento's opera ''L'Almira''. The German translation used by Handel was made by

Friedrich Christian Feasting Friedrich may refer to: Names * Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' * Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other * Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Year ...

. The recitatives of the opera are in German, and while most of the arias are also in German, many are in Italian, as was the custom at the opera house in Hamburg. ''Almira'' is the sole example among Handel's many operas with no role for a

castrato A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...

Performance history

''Almira'' was a resounding success. The opera was performed twenty times in total until its place was taken by Handel's next opera, ''

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

'', the music of which has not been preserved. The first modern performance of ''Almira'' took place on 23 February 1985, Handel's 300th birthday, at

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

's Städtische Oper. As with all of Handel's operas, after going unperformed for many years, ''Almira'' is presented by opera houses and festivals today. Among other performances, ''Almira'' was staged by operamission in New York City in 2012 and by the

Boston Early Music Festival The Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is a non-profit organization founded in 1980 in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. to promote historical music performance. It presents an annual concert series in Boston and New York City, produces opera recordi ...

in 2013.

Roles

Synopsis

The fictional story is set in medieval

Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...

Act 1

Princess Almira has inherited the throne from her father and the opera opens with her coronation. The new queen is disconcerted when her guardian Consalvo claims that her father entrusted him with his dying wish, namely that Almira should marry someone from "Consalvo's house" and since he only has one son, a rather feckless army officer called Osman, it would seem her father wished her to marry him. This is unwelcome news to Almira as she is desperately in love with her private secretary, a young man of unknown parentage named Fernando. Osman is not unhappy to be elevated to royal status in this way, but he too is already in love with someone else, the Princess Edilia. At an elaborate court entertainment, Almira mistakenly believes that her beloved Fernando is flirting with Edilia and becomes consumed with jealousy. The restless and jaded Osman attends another brilliant festivity given by Princess Bellante.

Act 2

Princess Bellante has fallen in love with Osman, but Osman's father, Consalvo, is amorously pursuing Bellante, which she finds annoying and tries to put a stop to. Osman, although in love with Edilia, thinks it will be grand to be a royal personage, so is keen to marry Almira, and asks Fernando, whom he knows has influence with Almira, to speak to her on his behalf. The king of Mauretania, Raymondo, disguising himself as the "ambassador" from Mauretania, makes an appearance at Almira's court and tries to win her love. Almira is not interested, being still in love with her secretary Fernando, although she has never told him so. She goes to him to confess her devotion, but Osman appears and, desiring Almira not for herself but the status he would gain as her husband, is about to stab Fernando when Almira grabs the dagger from him. Edilia gets wind of the fact that her sweetheart Osman is now keen to marry Almira and throws a jealous fit. A servant of Fernando, called Tabarco, comes across correspondence from these various people in these love tangles, and opens and reads all their letters.

Act 3

At an elaborate court

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masque ...

in honour of Raymondo, Fernando, Osman and Consalvo allegorically impersonate Europe, Asia and Africa. Raymondo now tries to woo Edilia, but she is still in love with Osman. Princess Bellante once again rebuffs the unwelcome attentions of Consalvo. In fact Bellante is now smitten with Osman. Tabarco hands a goodbye letter and a family heirloom, a ruby, from Fernando to Almira, and when Consalvo sees the ruby he realises that Fernando is his long lost son. Now Almira can marry Fernando and still fulfill her father's dying wish, Bellante will marry Osman and Edilia will accept Raymondo after all. All celebrate the fortunate outcome of events.

Context and analysis

''Almira'' is a mix of spectacle, as in the opening coronation scene and the masque in the third act, dance, comedy and drama. Paul O'Dette, artistic co-director of the

, where the opera was staged in 2013, says of this very early work by the teenaged Handel:

From the first page of the overture, it just overflows with genius and invention. You can't believe that an overture of this brilliance could have been written as Handel's first attempt, because most composers never achieve this level of invention after a whole career.

The opera is scored for two traversos, two oboes, bassoon, three trumpets, timpani, strings and continuo (cello, lute, harpsichord).

Arrangements

In 1732 the piece was once more performed in a version edited by

Georg Philipp Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesh ...

. In 1879

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

composed a transcription of the Sarabande and Chaconne from the opening act of this opera for his English piano student

Walter Bache Walter Bache (; 19 June 184226 March 1888) was an English pianist and conductor noted for his championing the music of Franz Liszt and other music of the New German School in England. He studied privately with Liszt in Italy from 1863 to 1865, ...

. Noted by critics as one of the most striking of Liszt's late paraphrases as well as his only setting of a

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

piece from his late period, this work is said to anticipate

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

's late-romantic settings of Bach.Baker, 103. Australian Liszt scholar and pianist

Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director and producer.Obituary ''Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and '' Vanity Fair'' and was one ...

has recorded this work as part of

Hyperion Records Hyperion Records is an independent British classical record label. History Hyperion is an independent British classical label that was established in 1980 with the goal of showcasing recordings of music in all genres and from all time period ...

' complete Liszt series.The recording can be found in Volume Six of the series, "Liszt at the Opera I," catalogue number CDA66371/2.

Recordings

*1994:

Andrew Lawrence-King Andrew Lawrence-King (born 3 September 1959) is a harpist and conductor from Guernsey known for his work in early music. Career Lawrence-King received an organ scholarship to Selwyn College, Cambridge, following on his work as head chorister at t ...

(conductor); Fiori musicali; Ann Monoyios (Almira), Linda Gerrard (Bellante), David Thomas (Consalvo), Patricia Rosario (Edilia), Jamie MacDougall (Fernando), Douglas Nasrawi (Osman), Olaf Haye (Raymondo),

Christian Elsner Christian Elsner (born 11 August 1965) is a German tenor in opera and concert, and an academic voice teacher at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe. He focused first on lied and oratorio, then entered the opera stage in roles such as Handel's Taba ...

(Tabarco). Studio recording with German recitatives and Italian arias (CPO 999275) *2019:

Paul O'Dette Paul Raymond O'Dette (born February 2, 1954) is an American lutenist, conductor, and musicologist specializing in early music. Biography O'Dette, who was born in Pittsburgh, began playing the electric guitar in a rock band in Columbus, Ohio, w ...

and

Stephen Stubbs Stephen Stubbs (born 1951) is a lutenist and music director and has been a leading figure in the American early music scene for nearly thirty years. Born in Seattle, he studied harpsichord and composition at the University of Washington where, a ...

(conductors); Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra; Emőke Baráth (Almira), Teresa Wakim (Bellante), Christian Immler (Consalvo),

Amanda Forsythe Amanda Forsythe (born 1976) is an American light lyric soprano who is particularly admired for her interpretations of baroque music and the works of Rossini. Forsythe has received continued critical acclaim from many publications including ''Ope ...

(Edilla), Colin Balzer (Fernando), Zachary Wilder (Osman), Jesse Blumberg (Raymondo),

Jan Kobow Jan Kobow (born 1966) is a German classical tenor in concert, Lied, and Baroque opera. Professional career Jan Kobow was born and raised in Berlin. He was a singer and soloist of the ''Staats- und Domchor, Berlin'' with Christian Grube. He stud ...

(Tabarco). 4 CDs. (CPO 555205–2).

References

Notes Sources * Baker, James M., ed. Kenneth Hamilton, "A survey of the late piano works," '' The Cambridge Companion to Liszt'' (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005). (paperback). * The first of the two-volume definitive reference on the operas of Handel. *Lang, Paul Henry, ''George Frideric Handel'' *Scheibler, Albert, ''Sämtliche 53 Bühnenwerke des Georg Friedrich Händel''

External links

German / Italian libretto
* {{Authority control German-language operas Operas by George Frideric Handel Operas 1705 operas Opera world premieres at the Hamburg State Opera