What is the plot of Semele?
Jupiter, King of the gods, takes the mortal Princess Semele to a secret hiding place on a mountain to be his mistress. When Jupiter’s wife, Juno, hears of her husband’s adultery she is enraged, and plots to ensure Semele’s downfall.
How long is the opera Semele?
3 hours
Duration: This performance is 3 hours long with a 20 minute interval. This opera is sung in English.
When was Where er you walk written?
Dryden’s satirical ode had been written in 1697 for an organisation called The Music Society, which had been formed in 1683 to create annual celebrations of Saint Cecilia’s Day on 22 November, and it was first set to music by Jeremiah Clarke (the score has not survived).
What did Juno do Semele?
Juno punishes Semele for her love affair with Jupiter. She also punishes Tiresias with blindness for agreeing with Jupiter. And Bacchus punishes Pentheus for failing to worship him. In Ovid’s account, three divine figures damn the household of Cadmus and the founding of Thebes: Diana, Juno, and Bacchus.
Is Semele a goddess?
SEMELE THYONE was the mother of Dionysos and the goddess of the Bacchic frenzy which seized female devotees of the god during the Orgies. Thyone’s mortal name was Semele. She was a Theban princess loved by the god Zeus.
Who wrote Semele?
William Congreve
Alexander Pope
Semele/Librettists
What did Hera convince Semele to ask?
Zeus’ wife, Hera, a goddess jealous of usurpers, discovered his affair with Semele when she later became pregnant. Appearing as an old crone, Hera befriended Semele, who confided in her that her lover was actually Zeus. Zeus, eager to please his beloved, promised on the River Styx to grant her anything she wanted.
What did Hera do to Semele?
Thyone’s mortal name was Semele. She was a Theban princess loved by the god Zeus. When his wife Hera learned of their affair, she tricked the girl into having Zeus swear an oath to appear before her in his full glory. Bound by his pledge the god did so and Semele was consumed by the fire of his lightning-bolts.
Why did Juno punish Jupiter?
Because only virgins could hang out with Diana, Callisto becomes an outcast. Soon afterward, Callisto gives birth to a son, Arcas. After this, Juno reveals that it was she who had brought to pass Callisto’s pregnancy and motherhood, as punishment for sleeping with her husband, Jupiter.
Why did Zeus let Semele come up to Olympus?
Semele, also called Thyone, in Greek mythology, a daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, at Thebes, and mother of Dionysus (Bacchus) by Zeus. Zeus had already promised to grant Semele her every wish and thus was forced to grant a wish that would kill her: the splendour of his firebolts, as god of thunder, destroyed Semele.
What was special about Semele?
Semele was a princess of Thebes in Greek mythology, daughter of the hero Cadmus and Harmonia. She was the only mortal to become the parent of a god. Zeus fell in love with Semele while watching her sacrifice a bull on his altar and visited her many times afterwards.
How did Jupiter make Semele immortal in Handel’s Opera?
Semele professes devotion to him, but reveals her discontent that she has not been made immortal. Jupiter, recognising that Semele has dangerous ambition, transforms the palace to Arcadia, charms her with its pastoral delights, and magically summons her sister Ino to keep her company.
Who is the artist of Jupiter and Semele?
Jupiter et Sémélé (1894–95; English, Jupiter and Semele) is a painting by the French Symbolist artist Gustave Moreau (1826–1898). It depicts a moment from the classical myth of the mortal woman Semele, mother of the god Dionysus, and her lover, Jupiter, the king of the gods.
Who are the main characters in Handel’s Semele?
DRAMATIS PERSONAE Jupiter (tenor) Cadmus, King of Thebes (bass) Semele, Daughter to Cadmus, belov’d by and in love with Jupiter (soprano) Athamas, a Prince of Bœotia, in love with, and design’d to marry Semele (alto) Ino, Sister to Semele, in love with Athamas (mezzo-soprano) Somnus (bass) Apollo (tenor) Juno (mezzo-soprano) Iris (soprano)
When was the Semele created by George Handel?
But whereas the project of Congreve and Eccle was originally intended for the stage, Handel’s Semele, created on 10 February 1744, was designed and presented ‘in the manner of an oratorio’, i.e. without staging.