Uploaded January 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Join us at our next concert: aam.co.uk
Mezzo soprano Helen Charlston sings 'Be wise as you are beautiful... Unknowing your Intent' from John Eccles' 'Semele' (1707), to a libretto by William Congreve. The Academy of Ancient Music is directed from the harpsichord by Julian Perkins in this performance from November 2019, at the Chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge, UK.
In partnership with Cambridge Handel Opera Company and Cambridge Early Music, AAM is proud to present the first professional recording of this scintillating work, the first setting of the great English 'Semele' libretto by William Congreve, better known in G. F. Handel’s version of 1744.
The album launched on 29 January 2021 - order your copy here: aam.co.uk/product/eccles-semele
'Be wise as you are beautiful,
Nor lose this Opportunity.
When Jove appears,
All ardent with Desire,
Refuse his proffer’d Flame
’Till you obtain a Boon without a Name.
Unknowing your Intent,
And eager for possessing,
He unawares will grant
The nameless Blessing,.
But bind him by the Stygian Lake,
Lest Lover-like his Word he break.'
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC
mezzo soprano: Helen Charlston
directed by: Julian Perkins
leader: Bojan Čičić
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Website: aam.co.uk
Instagram: instagram.com/aamorchestra
Facebook: facebook.com/academyofancientmusic
Twitter: twitter.com/aamorchestra
Visit Cambridge Handel Opera Company's website: cambridgehandel.org.uk
Recorded at the Chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge
November, 2019
Executive Producer: Alexander Van Ingen
Filming: Will Gray
Audio: Dave Rowell, assisted by James Waterhouse
With thanks to the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge, and the generous donors of the AAM Strategic Recording Fund.
#EnglishOpera #HelenCharlston
Join us at our next concert: aam.co.uk
Mezzo soprano Helen Charlston sings 'Be wise as you are beautiful... Unknowing your Intent' from John Eccles' 'Semele' (1707), to a libretto by William Congreve. The Academy of Ancient Music is directed from the harpsichord by Julian Perkins in this performance from November 2019, at the Chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge, UK.
In partnership with Cambridge Handel Opera Company and Cambridge Early Music, AAM is proud to present the first professional recording of this scintillating work, the first setting of the great English 'Semele' libretto by William Congreve, better known in G. F. Handel’s version of 1744.
The album launched on 29 January 2021 - order your copy here: aam.co.uk/product/eccles-semele
'Be wise as you are beautiful,
Nor lose this Opportunity.
When Jove appears,
All ardent with Desire,
Refuse his proffer’d Flame
’Till you obtain a Boon without a Name.
Unknowing your Intent,
And eager for possessing,
He unawares will grant
The nameless Blessing,.
But bind him by the Stygian Lake,
Lest Lover-like his Word he break.'
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC
mezzo soprano: Helen Charlston
directed by: Julian Perkins
leader: Bojan Čičić
Subscribe and follow us on social media for more great content!
Website: aam.co.uk
Instagram: instagram.com/aamorchestra
Facebook: facebook.com/academyofancientmusic
Twitter: twitter.com/aamorchestra
Visit Cambridge Handel Opera Company's website: cambridgehandel.org.uk
Recorded at the Chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge
November, 2019
Executive Producer: Alexander Van Ingen
Filming: Will Gray
Audio: Dave Rowell, assisted by James Waterhouse
With thanks to the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge, and the generous donors of the AAM Strategic Recording Fund.
#EnglishOpera #HelenCharlston
