Taking a brief summer respite from his busy Roman sojourn, Handel travelled further south to Naples from May to July 1708, where he was commissioned to write Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, a serenata for the wedding of Duke d’Alvito and Beatrice di Sanseverino. A small, intimate opera for three voices and orchestra without chorus, the work is distinguished by the variety of its instrumental accompaniment, which includes oboes, recorders and trumpets in addition to strings and basso continuo. The sung arias and recitatives are not to be outdone, taking us from the most languorous sighs to the most extreme virtuosity. We welcome for the first time the award-winning Italian conductor and harpsichordist Francesco Corti, principal guest conductor of the orchestra il Pomo d’Oro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Prenant un bref r\u00e9pit estival de son s\u00e9jour romain fort occup\u00e9, Handel se rend plus au sud \u00e0 Naples de mai \u00e0 juillet 1708, o\u00f9 on lui avait command\u00e9\u00a0Aci, Galatea e Polifemo<\/em>, une\u00a0serenata<\/em>\u00a0pour les noces du duc d\u2019Alvito et de Beatrice di Sanseverino. S\u2019agissant d\u2019un petit op\u00e9ra intime, \u00e0 trois voix et orchestre sans ch\u0153ur, l\u2019\u0153uvre se distingue par la vari\u00e9t\u00e9 de son accompagnement instrumental o\u00f9 l\u2019on retrouve, outre les cordes et la basse continue, hautbois, fl\u00fbtes \u00e0 bec et trompettes. Les airs et r\u00e9citatifs chant\u00e9s ne sont pas en reste, nous menant des soupirs les plus langoureux \u00e0 la virtuosit\u00e9 la plus extr\u00eame. Nous accueillons pour la premi\u00e8re fois le chef et claveciniste italien prim\u00e9 Francesco Corti, chef invit\u00e9 principal de l\u2019orchestre il Pomo d\u2019Oro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n