CCM presents Handel's 'Partenope' on Feb. 20-23

UC’s College-Conservatory of Music opera and voice students sing their way through mistaken identities and declarations of love and war in Partenope, with music by George Frideric Handel and libretto by Silvio Stampiglia. The opera, approaching its 300-year anniversary, tells the story of four rival suitors vying for the hand of Queen Partenope of Naples. Performances run from Thursday, Feb. 20 through Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020, at CCM’s Cohen Family Studio Theater.

Greg Eldridge directs this production and CCM master’s student Caleb Glickman conducts. The story centers on Queen Partenope and her surplus of potential husbands: the handsome Prince Arsace, the shy Prince Armindo, the volatile Prince Emilio and Eurimene, who is actually Arsace’s ex-fiancée Rosmira in disguise. Who will win the Queen’s heart? In his director’s note, Eldridge says audience members will be able to see glimpses of themselves in each of the characters in the opera.

“It is Handel’s ability to write music that at once humanizes his protagonists while underscoring their majestic or mythological natures that makes his work such a delight for directors, performers and audiences alike,” says Eldridge. “It is this relationship between characters, their emotions and each other that we seek to explore in this production.”

Partenope is Handel’s first comic opera; completed just two weeks before its premiere in 1730, it was such a departure from Handel’s successful opera seria works that the Royal Academy of Music rejected the opera. However, the public disagreed, and it had a successful seven-performance run during the premiere production, with revivals following in the next decade. After a lull in performances of over two centuries, it was premiered in the United States in 1988.

• 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20
• 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21
• 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22
• 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23

Cohen Family Studio Theater, CCM Village 
University of Cincinnati

Single tickets prices start at $23.50; Student discounts and group rates are also available.

Learn about additional ticket options for current CCM students.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online now through our e-box office.

CCM is located on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. Please visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions for detailed driving directions to CCM Village.

Parking is available in UC’s CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. 

CCMONSTAGE Production Sponsor: Macy’s and Dr. & Mrs. Carl G. Fischer

Opera Production Sponsor: Genevieve Smith

Story by CCM Graduate Student Alexandra Doyle

A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is the largest single source of performing arts presentations in the state of Ohio. All event dates and programs are subject to change. For a complete calendar of events, please visit us online at ccm.uc.edu.