Instruments of Time and Truth
Christopher Bucknall Director
Anna Devin Aci
Bethany Horak-Hallett Galatea
Edward Grint Polifemo
George Frederic Handel’s “little opera” Acis and Galatea is a well-known and much-loved part of his prolific output, and a cornerstone of the early English opera tradition. But Handel had already put his pen to this timeless pastoral myth ten years previously, in his cantata Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, composed in Naples in 1708.
This dramatic work finds Handel at his most brilliantly Italianate, and, despite its shared origins, has little in common with its English counterpart. Characterised by soaring melodies and flamboyant coloratura, it demands exceptional virtuosity on the part of the singers – not least the terrifying Polifemo, whose raging aria “Fra l’ombre e gl’orrori” is one of the most challenging in the bass repertoire. Coupled with its inventive instrumental accompaniment throughout, this is one of Handel’s most surprising and original works.
Tickets are available from Tickets Oxford