Handel characterized this piece as a "musical drama,"
to be sung in the theater, but unstaged, rather than
either oratorio or opera, but it has been performed as
both during its history. Like many of his masterworks,
such as Messiah, it was written in a short time, from
mid-July to mid-August, but it shows no signs of haste.
At its first performances at the King's Theater in
London, it was very badly received, and many of the
composer's supporters blamed this on the extra-musical
vagaries of fas...(+)
Handel characterized this piece as a "musical drama,"
to be sung in the theater, but unstaged, rather than
either oratorio or opera, but it has been performed as
both during its history. Like many of his masterworks,
such as Messiah, it was written in a short time, from
mid-July to mid-August, but it shows no signs of haste.
At its first performances at the King's Theater in
London, it was very badly received, and many of the
composer's supporters blamed this on the extra-musical
vagaries of fashionable society rather than on any
deficiencies in the work itself. In addition, Handel
had hoped to make his music more accessible to the
general public by lowering ticket prices, but this did
not draw the larger audiences he had hoped for, which
also contributed to his calling off further
performances. He was deeply disappointed by its
failure, which probably contributed to his later
illness. Today it is considered one of his strongest
musical-dramatic works, behind only Samson and Semele.
The musical characterization is extremely vivid, though
the male characters are rather stock types. The music
for Hercules is appropriately robust and extroverted,
even a bit simple-minded and pompous. Iole's is deeply
tragic, as she relives the death of her father,
supported by the almost weeping punctuation of the
orchestra. This scene is one of the strongest of the
opera, coming immediately after the lively march
introducing Hercules and his chained captives, and all
the more vivid for the contrast. Later her character is
developed a bit more, as she expresses her refusal to
consider Hyllas' proposal in firm, dignified music, or
the crystalline clarity Handel uses to depict her
innocence and compassion for those caught up in the
tragedy of Dejanira's jealousy. It is Dejanira herself,
though, who is the most three-dimensional of the
characters, as we see her love, jealous anger, and
final desperate remorse, expressed accordingly in
melting pathos, furious runs and biting stacatto
phrases, and burningly frenzied lines. Handel's mastery
is made clear in the way that even when one emotion
dominates, others are hinted at. For example, in her
first aria, chromatic phrases alternate between more
direct cadences, giving her emotions more complexity
and a foreshadowing of the darker side of her love.
Although originally written for Opera, I created this
arrangement for Flute and Concert (Pedal) Harp.
SHEET MUSIC