| Oratorios by George Frideric Handel |
|---|
Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (1707) |
Hercules (HWV 60) is a music drama in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The English-language libretto was by Thomas Broughton after the Trachiniae of Sophocles and the Metamorphoses of Ovid.
Contents |
Performance history
Hercules was first given at the King's Theatre in London on 5 January 1745 in concert style. There were only two performances, but it was repeated in 1749 and 1752. The first modern performance was in Münster in 1925.
Roles
| Premiere 1745 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hercules | bass | Thomas Reinhold |
| Dejanira, wife of Hercules | mezzo-soprano | Miss Robinson |
| Iole, daughter of the King of Oechalia | soprano | Elisabeth Duparc, called "La Francesina" |
| Hyllus, son of Hercules | tenor | John Beard |
| Lichas, a herald | alto | Susanna Maria Cibber |
E-book
Score of Hercules (ed. Friedrich Chrysander, Leipzig 1859)
Sources
Hercules by Stanley Sadie, in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
