Saturday 22 February 2014

ACIS AND GALATEA PASTORAL OPERA HELD AT MAIDAN CULTURAL CENTRE

I was eagerly waiting to attend the opera, 'Acis and Galatea' and I was quite excited  to see the splendid performance on Wednesday at Maidan Cultural Centre.  With  beautiful full live orchestra, international soloists, corps de ballet and chorus, the Ahmadi Music Group and Kuwait School of Dance brought this popular and timeless musical work to life. Great work by them!

Acis and Galatea is a very popular dramatic musical work by Georg Friedrich Händel based on Greek mythology. The work is described as a pastoral opera and it first premiered in 1718, with several adaptions in 1732 and 1739. The opera has been adapted numerous times since its premiere. Acis and Galatea was the pinnacle of pastoral opera in England.

Galatea was the queen of the sea nymphs called Nereides. Her name means "the goddess of calm seas". Acis a farmer falls in love with beautiful Galatea and so does she. The one eyed giant cyclops, son of Poseidon, Polyphemos also falls in love with her and  tries to woo her, but. Galatea rejects the giant.  When Polyphemos the giant learned of Galatea's  love for Acis, he fell into a jealous rage and crushed Acis with a rock. Galateia was grief stricken. The sea nymph with her divine powers turns him into a murmuring fountain. 

Here are some photos from the beautiful pastrol presentation Acis and Galatea.





















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