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Royal Castle in Warsaw

Georg Friedrich Händel

Alceste, HWV 45

Period Instrument Orchestra of the Warsaw Chamber Opera
Musicae Antiquae Collegium Varsoviense (MACV)

Directed from the Harpsichord | Marcin Świątkiewicz

Duration: 75 min. (break 15 min.)

Alceste (“Alcides”; HWV 45, HG 46b, HHA I/30) is a masque, semi-opera, or incidental music composed by George Frideric Handel (originally Georg Friedrich Händel). It was the only fully theatrical project Handel ever undertook—he composed it at nearly 65 years of age.

Alceste was created as part of a collaboration between John Rich, the renowned stage designer Servandoni, and playwright Tobias George Smollett (1721–1771), who wrote a now-lost play of the same title, inspired by Euripides’ tragedy. The song texts may also have been penned by Thomas Morell (1703–1784), a frequent collaborator of Handel’s. The work was prepared for performance at the Covent Garden Theatre, but was ultimately never presented to the public.

According to notes left by librettist Thomas Morell, the performance may have been cancelled because Handel’s music was considered too difficult for the cast. However, it is also possible that John Rich simply deemed staging an adaptation of Euripides’ drama too risky a venture. It’s worth noting that this was a time when the tastes of the London audience could be as explosive as the fireworks that destroyed Servandoni’s “Temple of Peace” during the performance of Handel’s famous Music for the Royal Fireworks in Green Park.

The music for Alceste includes an overture and songs for Acts I and IV, comprising a total of 19 numbers. Handel composed it between December 27, 1749, and January 8, 1750. He later reused parts of this composition in The Choice of Hercules (HWV 69), as well as in revisions of the operas Alexander Balus (HWV 65) and Hercules (HWV 60).