Afternoon on 3 - Handel: Admeto, Acts 1 and 2

Handel Operas 2009 As part of BBC Radio 3's complete cycle of Handel's operas, Louise Fryer presents Acts 1 and 2 of Admeto, a work which holds a unique place among Handel's operas, as the last of them to be staged in his lifetime. This is considered by many to be the finest of the five works he wrote for the 'rival queens' - two star Italian sopranos who demanded equal billing. The main roles are two very contrasting women who both love the hero, King Admeto of Thessaly. Comic relief is provided by the slow-witted but brave Hercules, who tries to rescue Admeto's wife from Hades, guarded by the three-headed hound Cerberus. Including conversation with veteran Handel opera expert Winton Dean. Handel: Admeto (Acts 1 and 2) Admeto ...... Rene Jacobs (countertenor) Alceste, his wife ...... Rachel Yakar (soprano) Antigona, his former fiancee ...... Jill Gomez (soprano) Trasimede ...... James Bowman (countertenor) Ercole (Hercules) ...... Ulrik Cold (bass) Orindo, Admeto's adviser ...... Rita Dams (mezzo-soprano) Meraspe, Antigon's tutor ...... Max van Egmond (bass) Il Complesso Barocco Alan Curtis (director).