Venue
Tickets
€35 – €160
Duration
Approx. running time: 2 hours and 30 mins (plus 30 mins interval)A co-production with Göttingen International Handel Festival.
Opera in three acts
Libretto by Paolo Antonio Rolli
Music by George Frideric Handel
First performance:
Lincoln’s Inn Fields Theatre, London 10 January 1741
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
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Handel’s Deidamia premiered in 1741, just weeks after Imeneo.
Librettist Paolo Rolli delivered his finest work. The opera had only three performances and wasn’t staged again until the 20th century.
Blending humour and seriousness, it explores heroism (Achilles) and love (Deidamia), closing Handel’s great operatic era.
Hear from director & conductor George Petrou and set & costume designer Giorgina Germanou about their approach to staging the production as part of the 74th Wexford Festival Opera.
'This is the last opera that Handel wrote for London and it's a very interesting piece because it's a combination of comedy and drama. There are a lot of very moving moments but a lot of very hilarious moments.'
- George Petrou, Director & Conductor
Cast
Sophie Junker
Sarah Gilford
Bruno de Sá
Nicolò Balducci
Petros Magoulas
Creative Team
George Petrou
Giorgina Germanou
Marisa Soulioti
Constantina Psoma
The Plot
Achilles, disguised as a young girl named Pyrrha, is hidden on the island of Skyros to avoid being sent to the Trojan War.
There, he falls in love with Deidamia, daughter of King Lycomedes.
Their secret romance is threatened when Ulysses and the Greeks arrive, determined to find Achilles.
Ulysses exposes his true identity by tempting him with weapons. Though torn between love and destiny, Achilles chooses glory, leaving Deidamia heartbroken.
Blending comedy and drama, Handel’s Deidamia explores love, deception, and fate in a world where duty triumphs over personal desire.
Watch & Listen
Deidamia | George Frideric Handel
Hear from director & conductor George Petrou and set & costume designer Giorgina Germanou about their approach to staging the production as part of the 74th Wexford Festival Opera.
Dates and times
| Saturday 18 Oct7:30pm | 7:30pm | €35 – €160 | Book Tickets |
| Wednesday 22 Oct7:30pm | 7:30pm | €35 – €160 | Book Tickets |
| Sunday 26 Oct5pm | 5pm | €35 – €160 | Book Tickets |
| Thursday 30 Oct7:30pm | 7:30pm | €35 – €160 | Book Tickets |
More from the programme
View full programme
The Magic Fountain
Frederick Delius
Festival Historical Tours
Il Viaggio a Reims
Gioachino Rossini
A Little Midsummer Night’s Dream
Benjamin Britten