George Frideric Handel by Balthasar Denner

''Imeneo'' (alternative title: ''Hymen'', HWV 41) is an

opera seria ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abo ...

in three acts by

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, ...

. The Italian-language

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 adapted from

Silvio Stampiglia Silvio Stampiglia (14 March 1664 – 27 January 1725) was an Italian poet, librettist, and founder member of the Accademia dell'Arcadia under the pen name of Palemone Licurio. Numerous Italian composer set his libretti to music, particularly Carlo ...

's ''Imeneo''. Handel had begun composition in September 1738, but did not complete the score until 1740. The opera received its first performance at the

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in develo ...

in London on 22 November 1740, and received another performance on 13 December. Handel then revised the score, and this revised version received concert performances in Dublin, on 24 and 31 March 1742.

Performance history

Charles Jennens, who created the libretti for both ''

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...

'' and ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...

'', described Imeneo as "the worst of all Handel’s Compositions", but added "yet half the Songs are good". The first modern production was at the

Halle Opera House The Halle Opera House () is an opera house in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. Originally named the Halle Town Theatre (), the theatre was built in 1886. A bomb attack on 31 March 1945 destroyed much of the original building. Restorative work ensued a few ...

on 13 March 1960, conducted by

Horst-Tanu Margraf Horst-Tanu Margraf (26 October 1903 − 1978) was a German conductor, Generalmusikdirektor of Halle (Saale) from 1950 to 1969. Margraf was music director in Lemberg during World War II. In Halle he was one of the founders of the Handel Festival. ...

. The work was soon after performed in Birmingham in 1961, under the direction of

Anthony Lewis Anthony Lewis (March 27, 1927 – March 25, 2013) was an American public intellectual and journalist. He was twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and was a columnist for ''The New York Times''. He is credited with creating the field of legal jour ...

. Lewis also led the first London revival of the opera since Handel's time, in 1972 at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

. Lewis has prepared a performing edition of the opera.Gudger, William D., Review of edition of George Frideric Handel: ''Imeneo (Hymenaeus); An Opera'' (prepared by Anthony Lewis) (1981). ''MLA Notes'' (2nd Ser.), 39 (2): p. 466.

Roles

Synopsis

The setting is "A Pleasant Garden" in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. The opera opens with Tirinto's lamentation of his lost love, Rosmene, a virgin of goddess

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...

, to barbaric

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. Her confidant Clomiri, has also been abducted. Together he grieves with Clomiri's father, Argenio. But they learn that a brave, strong man named Imeneo has killed all of the pirates as they slept. Everyone rejoices, and Imeneo, along with the rest of the country and Rosmene's parents, expects Rosmene to marry him, though her true feelings are for Tirinto. Thus Rosmene is caught in a painfully awkward

love triangle A love triangle or eternal triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with so ...

. Additionally, Clomiri has amorous feelings for Imeneo. Clomiri helps Imeneo realize that Rosmene is hesitant because of her relationship with Tirinto, and that she is putting his contentment before hers. When Imeneo, who insists that Rosmene is ungrateful, and Tirinto, who calls her unfaithful, tell her to decide who she will marry, she feigns a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

in front of the characters. Tirinto maintains that she is out of her mind, but in the aria "Io son quella navicella" Rosmene compares herself to a storm-tossed ship coming to shore. Eventually, she marries Imeneo. She learns that true love is not as important as honor and duty. Rosmene asks Tirinto to be happy for her. Her decision leaves Clomiri and Tirinto in tears. The chorus at the end of the opera restates that one must not bow down to one's desire, but to reason; one must not follow true feelings and fidelity, but gratitude and honor

Recordings

References

;Notes ;Sources * The second of the two volume definitive reference on the operas of Handel *''Imeneo'' by Anthony Hicks, in 'The

New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) *''Handel's 'Imeneo' From Glimmerglass Opera'

External links

Score
of ''Imeneo'' (ed.

Friedrich Chrysander Karl Franz Friedrich Chrysander (8 July 1826 – 3 September 1901) was a German music historian, critic and publisher, whose edition of the works of George Frideric Handel and authoritative writings on many other composers established him as a pion ...

, Leipzig 1885) {{Authority control Operas by George Frideric Handel Italian-language operas Opera seria 1740 operas Operas