Hercules

Hercules (HWV 60) is a Musical Drama in three acts by George Frideric Handel, composed in July and August 1744. The English-language libretto was by the Revd. Thomas Broughton after The Trachiniae of Sophocles, incorporating features from the narrative in the Metamorphoses of Ovid. Hercules was first given at the King's Theatre in London on 5 January 1745 in concert style. There were only two performances in the original run. The role of Lichas w... more

Hercules (HWV 60) is a Musical Drama in three acts by George Frideric Handel, composed in July and August 1744. The English-language libretto was by the Revd. Thomas Broughton after The Trachiniae of Sophocles, incorporating features from the narrative in the Metamorphoses of Ovid. Hercules was first given at the King's Theatre in London on 5 January 1745 in concert style. There were only two performances in the original run. The role of Lichas was originally a small one for tenor, but was rewritten at great length, with six airs, for Susanna Cibber. She, however, was too ill to sing on the first night, and the music was either omitted or redistributed on that occasion. She sang in the second performance, but the music for the chorus "Wanton God" and the air "Cease, ruler of the day" was never given in this opera: the latter was adapted for the final chorus of Theodora. The work was a total failure and caused Handel to suspend his season. Hercules obtained three further hearings, two... less