Aci, Galatea and Polifemo

Aci, Galatea and Polifemo, a serenata for three voices composed in 1708 by a very young Händel in Naples, underwent versions and adaptations for over thirty years, until 1739. This new production by the Teatro Municipale di Piacenza represents the first modern performance of the version written for the famous castrato singer Francesco Bernardi known as Senesino, in the reconstruction and critical edition by Fabrizio Longo, Raffaele Pe, and Luca Guglielmi.

Starring the countertenor among the most appreciated of the new generation Raffaele Pe (in the role of Aci), the mezzo-soprano Giuseppina Bridelli (Galatea), a voice particularly sought after in the Baroque repertoire, and Andrea Mastroni (Polifemo), an internationally renowned bass. Conductor and harpsichordist is Luca Guglielmi, an artist highly appreciated for his historically informed performances, leading the Baroque ensemble La Lira di Orfeo. Direction, set, and costumes are by Gianmaria Aliverta, one of the most interesting young opera directors; video projections by Tokio Studio.

The myth of Aci and Galatea, narrated in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, is transposed into the 1708 libretto by the Neapolitan Nicolò Giuvo. The legend takes place in Sicily: the love between the sea nymph Galatea and the shepherd Aci arouses the jealousy and wrath of the Cyclops Polifemo, who kills his rival by hurling a piece of mountain at him. Galatea obtains from her father Nereus that Aci’s blood be transformed into a river, so that he can reunite with the sea and thus make their love eternal. The sea stacks of the bay of Aci Trezza and the nine villages bearing the name of Aci will guard the relics of the young shepherd’s dismembered body.