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Programme Note

Handel wrote the first version of Il Pastor Fido in 1712; it was his second opera for London. Giacomo Rossi’s libretto was based upon the famous play Il Pastor Fido (c. 1584) by Giovanni Battista Guarini. Rossi reduced the play from five acts and eighteen characters to three acts and six characters. Although in so doing he obscured the motivation of the characters, he could have relied upon 18th century audiences having knowledge of the play and its principal action. The company for which Handel wrote Il Pastor Fido was in some financial difficulties and could not afford the extravagant orchestra and staging which Rinaldo had enjoyed. The first version of the opera was, therefore, lightly scored, with a large number of continuo arias. A contemporary comment was, “The Scene represented only ye Country of Arcadia, ye Habits were old – ye Opera short.” The opera received its first performance on 22 November 1712.