SWALLOW SINGS PRESENTS: APOLLO E DAFNE BY G F HANDEL

Apollo e Dafne (Apollo and Daphne, HWV 122) is a secular cantata composed by George Frideric Handel in 1709–10. Handel began composing the work in Venice in 1709 and completed it in Hanover after arriving in 1710 to take up his appointment as Kapellmeister to the Elector, the later King George I of Great Britain. The work is one of Handel’s most ambitious cantatas and is indicative of the brilliant operatic career to follow in the next 30 years of his life.

The Opera:
Like so many musical stories in Handel’s time, Apollo e Dafne is taken from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a first-century extended poetic retelling of mythology with a bit of actual Roman history thrown in. In Ovid’s version, Apollo has just killed the giant serpent Python with many arrows from his bow. Impressed with himself, the sun god establishes the Pythian Games to commemorate his triumph, and belittles Cupid’s prowess as an archer. Cupid responds by telling Apollo, “your bow may strike at all things, but mine can strike at you.” He then shoots Apollo with a golden arrow that will make him fall immediately in love, and shoots the nymph Daphne, daughter of the river god Peneus, with a leaden arrow to make her reject all love. Apollo falls in love with Daphne, who flees from him. As he is about to catch her, she prays to her father to destroy her beauty so Apollo will leave her alone. Peneus, perhaps overly enthusiastic in granting her wish, turns her into a laurel tree. Foiled forever in his pursuit, Apollo nonetheless honors her by making a laurel wreath the symbol of victory.

Handel’s librettist refashioned the story by cutting all the narration and the parts for Cupid and Peneus. Immediately after Apollo’s boasting of his superiority over Cupid in archery, Daphne appears and Apollo falls instantly in love with her. There is no mention of a leaden arrow; instead, a strong-willed and self-motivated Daphne chooses to remain a virgin because she has dedicated herself to Diana (also called Cynthia), the virgin goddess of the hunt. In Ovid’s poetry, Daphne says nothing until she prays for deliverance. Handel’s cantata is the opposite: Daphne debates with Apollo on equal terms, but is silent when she transforms into the laurel tree, so that we are made aware of it only from the startled Apollo’s description. Overwhelmed by sorrow, Apollo pledges that his tears will water her green leaves and that her triumphant branches will be used to crown the greatest heroes.

The Composer:

George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759), was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Handel spent his early life in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712, where he spent the bulk of his career and became a British citizen in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition and by composers of the Italian Baroque. In turn, Handel’s music forms one of the peaks of the “high baroque” style, bringing Italian opera to its highest development, creating the genres of English oratorio and organ concerto, and introducing a new style into English church music. He is consistently recognised as one of the greatest composers of his age. His most famous work, the oratorio Messiah with its “Hallelujah” chorus, is among the most popular works in choral music.

The programme:

Talk by Sophie Rashbrook

Interval

Chamber music performance of Apollo e Dafne (in English)

The Swallow Sings Opera Series is kindly sponsored by The Swallow Charitable Trust.