Afternoon on 3 - BBC Performing Groups - Handel: Semele (Acts 1 and 2)

Handel Operas 2009 As part of the complete cycle of Handel's operas, Louise Fryer presents a performance of the first two acts of Semele, which tells the story of the beautiful daughter of Cadmus and her ill-fated love affair with Jupiter, king of the gods. This recording made by the Early Opera Company under Christian Curnyn is the first to be completed on period instruments and, as one has now come to expect in these operas, includes some of Handel's most inspiring music including the famous aria Where'er you walk. Handel: Semele (Acts 1 and 2) Mortals: Semele ...... Rosemary Joshua (soprano) Ino ...... Hilary Summers (contralto) Cadmus ...... Brindley Sherratt (bass) Athamus ...... Stephen Wallace (countertenor) Company Chorus of Priests and Augurs ...... Chorus of Early Opera Immortals: Jupiter ...... Richard Croft (tenor) Juno ...... Hilary Summers (contralto) Iris ...... Gail Pearson (soprano) Somnus ...... Brindley Sherratt (bass) Apollo ...... Richard Croft (tenor) Chorus of Loves and Zephyrs; Chorus of Nymphs and Swains; Attendants ...... Chorus of Early Opera Company Early Opera Company Christian Curnyn (conductor) 4.15pm BBC Performing Groups: BBC Concert Orchestra Fabulous Family Music Day from Watford Colosseum. Presented from the stage by Kirsten O'Brien. Strauss, arr Malloy: Also Sprach Zarathustra (opening) Schifrin, arr Malloy: Mission Impossible Theme Bizet: Toreador's March (Carmen) Britten: Hankin' Booby (Suite on English Folk Tunes) Hindson: RPM Saint-Saens: The Swan (Theo Vinden - cello) Jones, arr Malloy: Soul Bossonova Offenbach: The Can-Can BBC Concert Orchestra Christopher Warren-Green (conductor).