Almira, Königin von Castilien (HWV 1) (German: Der in Krohnen erlangte Glückswechsel) is George Frideric Handel's first opera. It was first performed in Hamburg in January 1705.
Handel came to the city of Hamburg in the summer of 1703 and played as a violinist in the theatre at the Gänsemarkt, the local market place. On later occasions, he also played the harpsichord in the orchestra. His first opera – announced as a Singspiel although it has no ...
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Almira, Königin von Castilien (HWV 1) (German: Der in Krohnen erlangte Glückswechsel) is George Frideric Handel's first opera. It was first performed in Hamburg in January 1705.
Handel came to the city of Hamburg in the summer of 1703 and played as a violinist in the theatre at the Gänsemarkt, the local market place. On later occasions, he also played the harpsichord in the orchestra. His first opera – announced as a Singspiel although it has no spoken dialogue – had its premiere on 8 January 1705 under the direction of Reinhard Keiser, so it is presumed that it must have been composed in the months directly preceding this.
The Italian libretto was written by Giulio Pancieri in Venice in 1691. Giuseppe Boniventi used it in his opera at the time. The translation used by Handel was made by Christian Feustking. While most of the recited parts and arias are sung in German, some remain untranslated.
Almira was a resounding success. The opera was performed twenty times in total until its...
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