Review - Opera - Acis and Galatea

A shepherd, a jealous giant, a nymph and her lover are the protagonists in Handel’s 18th century miniature opera, Acis and Galatea, which is based on a pastoral myth. Written for a garden performance in a country mansion, it has advantages over Handel’s other operatic output: it is in English rather than Italian and, at 90 minutes, it is concise.

The Early Opera Company, one of Britain’s leading Baroque ensembles, presented a concert version of the work as part of the Kilkenny Arts Festival. In the resonant acoustics of St Canice’s Cathedral, the contrasting voices sounded clean and graceful and allowed the poetic libretto to gleam.