Terpsicore

Terpsicore (HWV)(8b) is a prologue in the form of an opéra-ballet by George Frideric Handel. Handel composed it in 1734 for a revision of his opera Il pastor fido which had first been presented in 1712. The revision of Il pastor fido with Terpsicore as the prologue was first performed on 9 November 1734 at Covent Garden theatre in London, opening Handel's first season in that newly built theatre. Terpsicore mixes dance along with solo and choral singing and was patterned after models in French operas, a particular source being Les festes grecques et romaines by Louis Fuzelier and Colin de Blamont, first presented in Paris in 1723. The work featured the celebrated French dancer Marie Sallé as well as stars of Handel's Italian operas and was a success with audiences of the day.

Il pastor fido, a pastoral opera first performed in 1712, had not been a success with audiences at that time, probably due to the fact that it was lacking in the sort of spectacular scenic effects and larger than life emotions of Handel's previous opera Rinaldo which had created a sensation. In 1734, Handel radically revised Il Pastor Fido and presented the new version with a star role for celebrated castrato Carestini. This production ended Handel's 1733-34 season at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket and so successful was it that Handel chose the piece a few months later to open his first season at his new artistic home, Covent Garden Theatre, with the new prologue Terpsichore added to showcase the talents of internationally famous dancer, Marie Sallé. She later appeared, also as a dancer, in Handel's operas Alcina and Ariodante.

As with all Baroque opera seria, Il Pastor Fido and its prologue Terpsicore went unperformed for many years, but with the revival of interest in Baroque music and historically informed musical performance since the 1960s,Terpsicore receives performances at festivals and opera houses today, whether as prologue to Il Pastor Fido or as an independent piece. Among other performances, Terpsicore was seen in a choreographed staging at the Manoel Theatre, Malta, and the Château de Versailles Spectacles, France, in 2013.

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