A season of Handel operas, part 2: Alceste

La mort d'Alceste, ou l'Héroïsme de l'amour conjugal [The death of Alcestis] (detail) by Jean-François Pierre Peyron, 1785. Image credit: Louvre, Paris. Image source: Speakerty

Alceste (1750). Lauren Snouffer (Calliope), Aaron Sheehan (Apollo), with Leandra Ramm (soloist) and Jeffrey Fields (Charon). Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale, Peter Whelan, conductor. Herbst Theater, San Francisco, 7 March 2025.

When Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra announced that Handel's Alceste would be performed this spring, I was a little puzzled. I was familiar with two other operas based on Euripides' tragedy: Lully's of 1694, with a libretto by Philippe Quinault, and Gluck's of 1767, with a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. But what was this mystery work by Handel, and why had I never heard of it?

The work did not appear in any of the opera reference works on my shelves, nor in the table of contents of Winton Dean's definitive Handel's Dramatic Oratorios and Masques (Oxford, 1959). Checking Dean's chapter on The Choice of Hercules (1751), though, I soon learned the reason that Alceste is not better known: it had never been performed in Handel's lifetime, and most of the music had been repurposed for The Choice of Hercules.

George Frideric Handel by Thomas Hudson, 1749–1750. Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Handel had composed the music as interludes for a play by the poet and novelist Tobias Smollett based on Euripides' Alcestis. Following the conventions of masques such as Henry Purcell's King Arthur (1691) and The Fairy Queen (1692), none of the main characters of Smollett's play—King Admetus, who has been summoned by Death; Alcestis, his devoted wife who chooses to die in his place; and Hercules, the hero who rescues her from the underworld and restores her to life and to her husband—have singing roles in Handel's work. Instead, Alceste features the muse Calliope, the god Apollo, and the Stygian ferryman Charon, who comment on the play's action. The word book for Handel's interludes was not written by Smollett, but most likely by Thomas Morell, the librettist for several of Handel's earlier and later oratorios.

The masque was commissioned by John Rich, who had produced The Beggar's Opera (1728), John Gay's ballad opera satirizing his former collaborator Handel (see Part 1 on Acis and Galatea). However, shortly after the wildly successful run of The Beggar's Opera, Rich built the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, where Handel's later operas and many of his oratorios were first publicly performed; Handel apparently bore no grudge.

John Rich, attributed to William Hogarth, ca. 1755–1761. Image source: Wikimedia Commons

The play and music were ready by early January 1750, but the masque was never performed: Rich cancelled the production. According to notes made by Morell, Rich made this decision because the music was "too good [i.e., difficult] for [his] Performers." This is unlikely to be the true explanation. The singers included the soprano Cecilia Young (Mrs. Thomas Arne), her sister, the contralto Esther Young, tenor Thomas Lowe and bass Gustavus Waltz, all experienced singers who performed in other Handel works. More likely, the expense of mounting a full-length play together with musical interludes and dances proved too great, and Rich decided to cut his losses.

As a result, Alceste is little known and rarely performed or recorded. Which is a shame, because it contains some very appealing music. Here is Calliope's "Gentle Morpheus, son of night," performed by soprano Lucy Crowe with the Early Opera Company conducted by Christian Curnyn:

https://youtu.be/NYZCPr9bM-A

Gentle Morpheus, son of night, Hither speed thy airy flight! And his weary senses steep In the balmy dew of sleep. That when bright Aurora's beams Glad the world with golden streams, He, like Phoebus, blithe and gay, May re-taste the healthful day.

The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra performance made a strong case for the viability of Alceste in concert. It has some rousing choral numbers and virtuoso showcases for the soloists. Lauren Snouffer brought a bright soprano and fluency in coloratura to the role of Calliope, and the ever-reliable Aaron Sheehan his flexible and pleasing tenor to the role of Apollo. 

The Philharmonia Chorale directed by Valérie Sainte-Agathe made a substantial contribution to the success of the performance, not only with its usual superb unison and intonation, but also by supplying two soloists: the mezzo-soprano Leandra Ramm for the air "Triumph, Hymen, in the pair," and the baritone Jeffrey Fields in Charon's "Ye fleeting shades, I come / To fix your final doom" (which, although lyrically very different, bears a passing musical resemblance to Polyphemus' "Ruddier than the cherry" from Acis and Galatea). 

Guest conductor Peter Whelan led an energetic and cohesive performance of Alceste and the opening Concerto Grosso in G major Op. 6 No. 1. On top of flawlessly coordinating soloists, orchestra and chorus, he was a charming host for the evening. The PBO is currently searching for a music director to replace Richard Egarr, who resigned last June after just four seasons (his predecessor, Nicholas McGegan, spent 35 years in the role). On the evidence of Whelan's audition, he made a strong case not only for Alceste but for his candidacy.

Next time: Giulio Cesare performed by The English Concert

Last time: Acis and Galatea performed by American Bach Soloists