ACIS AND GALATEA

BEAUTY, BEASTS, UNREQUITED LOVE

GET A HANDEL ON IT

The charming Acis and Galatea is another special event in The NBR New Zealand
Opera's 2003 programme: it becomes the first Handel opera ever to be performed by
a professional opera company in this country.

Some of Handel's most glorious music underpins this endearing story of love and
rejection taken from classical mythology.

The shepherd Acis, in love with the nymph Galatea, has a monstrous rival in the form of the cyclops Polyphemus. The giant seeks a brutal revenge against the lovestruck Acis, but Polyphemus' lust for vengeance has to contend with the power of nature that Galatea wields.

Beautiful choruses, touching arias, and comic moments are a reminder of Handel's mastery.

This semi-staged production of Acis and Galatea will feature some of New Zealand's finest Baroque musicians.

The performances, in Auckland and Wellington, make a winter season already bubbling with The Barber of Seville into a true opera lover's delight.

The IBM Winter Season of
 ACIS AND GALATEA
By George Frederic Handel
Text by John Gay et al

A new semi-staged production
Sung in English.

Galatea   Rhona Fraser
Acis   John Murray
Polyphemus   Stephen Bennett

Conductor   John Rosser
Director   Jennifer Ward-Lealand

With the Chapman Tripp Opera Chorus
Accompanied by the New Zealand Baroque Ensemble led by Greg Squre.

Dates