Amadigi di Gaula

Opera in 3 acts by Georg Friedrich Händel
the opera by Handel

Amadigi di Gaula (HWV 11) is a "magic" opera in three acts, with music by George Frideric Handel. It was the fifth Italian opera that Handel wrote for an English theatre and the second he wrote for Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington in 1715. The opera about a damsel in distress is based on Amadis de Grèce, a French tragédie lyrique by André Cardinal Destouches and Antoine Houdar de la Motte. Amadigi was written for a small cast, employing four high voices. Handel made prominent use of wind instruments, so the score is unusually colorful, comparable to his Water Music. The opera received its first performance in London at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket on 25 May 1715, in a lavish successful production. Charles Burney maintained near the end of the eighteenth century: Amadigi contained " more invention, variety and good composition, than in any one of the musical dramas of Handel which I have yet carefully and critically examined".

Handel composed Amadigi in 1715 for Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, during his stay at Burlington House. The identity of the librettist is not known for certain. Previous consensus had been that John Jacob Heidegger, who signed the dedication to Richard Boyle was the author, but more recent research has indicated that the librettist was more likely to be Giacomo Rossi, with Nicola Francesco Haym as a more probable candidate. The original manuscript of Amadigi has disappeared, along with ballet sections in the music. Only one edition of the libretto is known, dating from 1715. Two published editions of the opera exist, the Händelgesellschaft edition of 1874, and the first critical edition, by J. Merrill Knapp, which Bärenreiter published in 1971. Following this work, Handel composed no operas for five years.

Amadigi di Gaula was premiered in London at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket on 25 May 1715. Exceptional care was lavished on the production, which was a success. The King attended several performances. The opera received a known minimum of 17 further performances in London until 1717. Hamburg saw 17 performances from 1717 to 1720, but with a different title, Oriana. With the revival of interest in Baroque music and historically informed musical performance since the 1960s, Amadigi, like all Handel operas, has received performances at festivals and opera houses. Among other performances, the opera received its North American premiere in March 2003 at Western University's Don Wright Faculty of Music. and the first fully staged production in North America was in July 2011 at Central City Opera in Central City, Colorado. A production of Amadigi di Gaula was seen at the Göttingen International Handel Festival in 2012 and the opera received a production by Haymarket Opera, Chicago in 2015. The French Baroque performing group Les Paladins created a production of the piece in 2019 which was performed in a number of theatres including the Théâtre de l'Athénée, Paris.

The libretto is an adaptation of a medieval Spanish knight errantry epic Amadis de Gaula in which the King of Gaul, educated in Scotland, falls in love with and eventually marries Oriana, daughter of the King of England. Amadis de Gaula by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo is a prose pastoral romance written towards the close of the fourteenth century. Like any romance of chivalry, Amadís de Gaula is a nightmare to summarise owing to its length, numerous characters, and complicated subplots. The work has a complicated history. Oriana was heiress to the throne of England. Amadis of Gaul is a prince born of a secret amour, educated in Scotland, reared as a knight, and serving devotedly the fair English princess Oriana. For her sake, he contends against monsters and enchantments, and defends her father's kingdom from an oppressor. Richard B. Beams wrote: Historically, Amadís was very influential amongst the Spanish conquistadores. Bernal Diaz del Castillo mentioned the wonders of Amadís upon witnessing the wonders of the New World – and such place names as California and Patagonia come directly from the work. David Kimbell compared in detail the treatments of the story by Handel and Destouches.

Amadigi, a Paladin, and Dardano, the Prince of Thrace, are both enamoured with Oriana, the daughter of the King of the Fortunate Isles. Oriana prefers Amadigi in her affections. Also attracted to Amadigi is the sorceress Melissa, who tries to capture Amadigi's affections by various spells, pleadings and even threats. Amadigi confronts various spirits and furies, but rebuffs them at practically every turn. One particular vision at the "Fountain of True Love", however, of Oriana courting Dardano upsets Amadigi to the point that he faints. Oriana sees Amadigi prostrate, and is about to stab herself with his sword when he awakens. He immediately berates her for her apparent betrayal of him, and in his turn tries to stab himself.

Still alive, Amadigi continues to resist the advances of Melissa. Melissa then makes Dardano look like Amadigi, to deceive Oriana. Oriana follows Dardano, in the visage of Amadigi, to beg his pardon. Dardano exults in the attention of Oriana, and in an impulsive moment, challenges Amadigi to single combat. In the duel, Amadigi kills Dardano. Melissa accuses Oriana of stealing Amadigi from her, and calls upon dark spirits to assault Oriana, who resists all of Melissa's incantations. Dardano's celebrated aria Pena tiranna io sento al core from Act 2 is notable for its prominent bassoon part and its chord sequence based on the circle of fifths or, rather, circle of fourths. The introduction is shown in the score as one of the Baroque examples.

Amadigi and Oriana have been imprisoned by Melissa. The two lovers are willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. Though desirous of revenge, Melissa cannot quite yet kill Amadigi, but torments him by prolonging his confinement in chains. Amadigi and Oriana ask Melissa for mercy. Melissa summons the ghost of Dardano to assist her in her revenge, but the ghost says that the gods are predisposed to protect Amadigi and Oriana, and that their trials are nearly done. Rejected on all levels, by the gods, the underworld spirits, and Amadigi, Melissa takes her own life, with one final plea to Amadigi to feel a shade of pity for her. In the manner of a deus ex machina, Orgando, uncle of Oriana and a sorcerer himself, descends from the sky in a chariot and blesses the union of Amadigi and Oriana. A dance of shepherds and shepherdesses concludes the opera.