Terpsicore is the only opera prologue composed by Handel. It was premiered in 1734 as the opening to Il Pastor Fido, an opera that contained some of the best music from at least a half dozen previous operas and serenatas. In praise of Apollo, Erato (the muse of music), and Terpsicore (the muse of dance), its performance featured two of Handel’s greatest singers (castrato Giovanni Carestini and soprano Anna Maria Strada) and the celebrated Marie Sallé. Arias, duets, choruses, and dance music permeate this wonderful opéra-ballet.
While the title of Lotti’s captivating “Mass for Three Choirs” can be misleading, it is a work composed for more than 20 independent vocal and instrumental parts, often organized in as many as five different and separated groups, drawing upon the Venetian tradition of polychoral, or cori spezzati, works from the time of the great composers at San Marco.
Academy participants are featured in both of these performances.