{"id":10860,"date":"2023-10-11T00:27:29","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T00:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aam.co.uk\/oxygen\/?post_type=product&#038;p=10860"},"modified":"2025-03-14T17:04:08","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T17:04:08","slug":"john-eccles-semele","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/aam.co.uk\/new\/product\/john-eccles-semele\/","title":{"rendered":"John Eccles: Semele"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p><em>\u2018Astonishing playing from the Academy of Ancient Music.\u2019<\/em>\u00a0Dame Emma Kirkby, Opera<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Academy of Ancient Music, Cambridge Handel Opera Company, Cambridge Early Music and Julian Perkins are proud to present the first professional recording of John Eccles\u2019s <i>Semele<\/i> (c.1707), a notable early setting of the great English libretto by William Congreve better known in a version by GF Handel from 1744.<\/p>\n<p>The Academy of Ancient Music\u2019s mission is to explore, reveal and preserve the great treasure house of baroque and classical music, and a spirit of newfound discovery runs through all our work. Eccles\u2019s\u00a0<i>Semele<\/i>\u00a0is the next step on this journey, released here on 2 CDs in deluxe hardback presentation with an extensive accompanying full-colour booklet containing scholarly essays, Stephen Fry\u2019s modern re-telling of the story, autograph manuscript images of Eccles\u2019 score, the full libretto text and much more. A fascinating insight into how opera in England might have developed after Henry Purcell\u2019s death had not Handel moved to London in 1712, Eccles\u2019s <i>Semele <\/i>is the perfect addition to any baroque-music lover\u2019s library.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cast:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>(Gods)<br \/>\nJupiter, King of the Gods - Richard Burkhard, baritone<br \/>\nJuno, Queen of the Gods - Helen Charlston, mezzo soprano<br \/>\nIris, handmaid to Juno - H\u00e9lo\u00efse Bernard, soprano<br \/>\nCupid, God of Love - Bethany Horak-Hallett, mezzo soprano<br \/>\nSomnus, God of Sleep - Christopher Foster, bass<br \/>\nApollo, Sun God and God of Prophecy - Jolyon Loy, baritone<\/p>\n<p>(Mortals)<br \/>\nCadmus, King of Thebes - Jonathan Brown, baritone<br \/>\nSemele, daughter of Cadmus - Anna Dennis, soprano<br \/>\nIno, sister of Semele - Aoife Miskelly, soprano<br \/>\nAthamas, a prince of B\u0153otia - William Wallace, tenor<br \/>\nChief Priest - Graeme Broadbent, bass<br \/>\nSecond Priest \/ First Augur - Rory Carver, tenor<br \/>\nThird Priest \/ Second Augur - James Rhoads, tenor<\/p>\n<p>Julian Perkins, Director<br \/>\nAcademy of Ancient Music<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"John Eccles: Semele | Academy of Ancient Music, Cambridge Handel Opera, Cambridge Early Music\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/G5vpaPsOObU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>\"Reviving one of the forgotten gems of English opera, this first professional recording of Eccles and Congreve's drama is revelatory, bringing out the work's wit, charm and drama\" <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.planethugill.com\/2021\/01\/after-purcell-and-before-handel.html\">Planet Hugill<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>''This release marks a significant new chapter in the performance history of Eccles\u2019 Semele. Performed to the very highest vocal, instrumental and scholarly standards, it is simply unmissable.''<\/em> Opera Now<\/p>\n<p>\"<i>Julian Perkins leads a dozen excellent soloists and the joint forces of the Cambridge Handel Opera Company, Cambridge Early Music and the Academy of Ancient Music \u2026 This new version is a real revelation\u201d <\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/ovidii-amici.blogspot.com\/2021\/01\/la-semele-de-john-eccles.html\">Les amis d\u2019Ovide<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\"<i>A real discovery \u2026 the documentation is outstanding, with so much context to pore over in the almost 200 page book. But it\u2019s the music that\u2019s the winner. The more I listen to it, the more I love this. What a resurrection it is.\u201d <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/m000rtj5\">BBC Record Review (30\/01\/2021)<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><i>\"Handsomely packaged with copious documentation, this is a recording that by rights should put Eccles on the map.\" <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.co.uk\/article\/academy-of-ancient-music-semele-review-italianate-opera-performed-with-a-forthright-flourish-cssbvcn2l\">The Times ****<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<p>\"<i>This isn\u2019t the work\u2019s first recording, but it is the first major one with professional forces, and it\u2019s good enough to put this\u00a0<\/i><span class=\"mark1kgd8oei3\" data-markjs=\"true\" data-ogac=\"\" data-ogab=\"\" data-ogsc=\"\" data-ogsb=\"\">Semele<\/span><i>, and its composer, firmly on the map\" <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/2021\/feb\/04\/eccles-semele-review\">The Guardian *****<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<p>\"<i>With the Academy of Ancient Music, the director Julian Perkins reveals a work that\u00a0exceeds the superficially attractive, his charged reading embracing high drama and deep\u00a0emotion. Excellent performances from Richard Burkhard (Jupiter), Anna Dennis\u00a0(<span class=\"markrdar81ajn\" data-markjs=\"true\" data-ogac=\"\" data-ogab=\"\" data-ogsc=\"\" data-ogsb=\"\">Semele<\/span>) and the remarkable Helen Charlston (Juno).<\/i>\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.co.uk\/article\/on-record-classical-february-7-f6g5vv9jw\">Sunday Times<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\"<i><span class=\"mark8ruxv443l\" data-markjs=\"true\" data-ogac=\"\" data-ogab=\"\" data-ogsc=\"\" data-ogsb=\"\">Semele<\/span> has become the latest labour of love from the Academy of Ancient Music, whose lavishly packaged, presented and researched new account in partnership with Julian Perkins and Cambridge Handel Opera gives this footnote of a work the passionate advocacy it has long been waiting for.\" <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.limelightmagazine.com.au\/reviews\/john-eccles-semele-academy-of-ancient-music\/\">Limelight Magazine (Editor's Choice)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>\"Anna Dennis is delightful as the ambitious mortal Semele ... Richard Burkhard and Helen Charlston mine some divine comic scenes... The rest of the large cast is excellent and Julian Perkins gets a fizzing performance out of the Academy of Ancient Music, enough to make Eccles seem a rival to Handel\"<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/d12a6a8d-a19a-4f68-afd5-658377b5b8d3\">Financial Times ****<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q\">\n<div dir=\"auto\"><em>\"The Academy of Ancient Music creates an appropriately resonant but vigorous account... a sumptuous package that has become a hallmark of AAM\u2019s releases of little-known and undiscovered compositions\"<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalsource.com\/cd\/john-eccless-semele-academy-of-ancient-music-julian-perkins-aam\/?fbclid=IwAR1HcYSCC2quImPwWrYoKeHFycZb5sKnRGBXl7QF8hHwlLQ2qkDGfNdofSg\">Classical Source<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Released 29 January 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Academy of Ancient Music<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Cambridge Handel Opera<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Julian Perkins<\/strong> <em>director<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Richard Burkhard | Helen Charlston | H\u00e9lo\u00efse Bernard | Bethany Horak-Hallett | Christopher Foster | Jolyon Loy | Jonathan Brown | Anna Dennis | Aoife Miskelly | William Wallace | Graeme Broadbent | Rory Carver | James Rhoads<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>\u2018John Eccles\u2019 <\/i><span class=\"markjllck6zfn\" data-markjs=\"true\" data-ogac=\"\" data-ogab=\"\" data-ogsc=\"\" data-ogsb=\"\">Semele<\/span><i> is nothing short of a revelation.\u2019 <\/i>Rhinegold<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":10885,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[32],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-10860","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-cd","first","instock","taxable","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>John Eccles: Semele &#8211; 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