In the story presented by George Frideric Handel in Teseo, the women pull the strings. It is not for this reason that the third opera seria he composed for London is considered an experiment (expressive female characters are present his other works too). In Teseo, presented for the first time in 1713, a distinct French influence was a sensation. It is actually a combination of Italian opera and tragédie lyrique.
Teseo’s libretto by Nicola Haym is loosely based on mythological themes. The famous Minotaur slayer Theseus is in trouble again. When he goes to war together with the Athenians, subjects to King Aegeus, the king decides to marry Theseus’s beloved Agilea and force Theseus to marry the sorceress Medea. Moreover, he accuses his triumphant son of conspiring toto grab power from him. When Theseus tells Medea that he is not going to give up his love for Agilea, she decides to take revenge. She sends demons to the lovers and gives the king poison to kill Theseus. As a last resort, Theseus takes matters into his own hands, arrives in a dragon-drawn chariot and Minerva herself intervenes to save the hero.
Haym did not write this intricate story from scratch, but only adapted the plot of one of Jean-Baptiste Lully’s operas. This is why the plot is divided into five acts, and next to the main couple of lovers – Theseus and Agilea, there is another – Arcane and Clizia. The function of the aria is also completely different here than in a typical Italian opera – Handel does not follow the Neapolitan convention where the character leaves the stage after performing it. In Teseo, at one point two such arias are sung in a row, and successive duets – also contrary to Italian patterns – are not separated by a recitative.
Today, such an unusual form continues to intrigue; the orchestration, the virtuosity of the vocal parts and the characters perfectly rendered in the music impress modern audiences. Teseo is another Handel opera, apart from Rinaldo or Alcina, in which magical themes appear. After more than three hundred years from their creation, their charm is still irresistible.
