engleski

Pastoral Disguise and Identity Conflict in Handel's Atalanta

The pastoral – whether as a genre, a topos or a set of musical conventions – is omnipresent in the vocal works of G. F. Handel, but except for the Italian cantata, it does not occupy pride of place in the pantheon of operatic and oratorio masterpieces. Although one can identify pastoral elements in the majority of Handel’s 41 Italian operas, only a few are set in an entirely pastoral milieu. To this group belongs the small-scale work Atalanta (1736), writt en at a time of gradual decline in the popularity of the genre. It is also one of the composer’s two operas writt en to celebrate a specifi c occasion, the marriage of Frederick Prince of Wales to Princess Augusta of Saxe-Coburg. Whereas in other operas such as Admeto and Tolomeo characters disguise themselves as shepherdesses and shepherds only to conceal their true identity, in Atalanta this plot device is rendered essential to the dramaturgy as a whole. This essay focuses on the character of Atalanta, drawing parallels to the depiction of this mythological heroine in other operatic and literary contexts as well as in the visual arts in order to understand the confl ict between her royal and pastoral identity in Handel’s opera. Associated with the cult of Artemis, she seems an ideal counterpart to other strong female characters in Handel’s works who defy traditional gender identities as powerful rulers, warriors or sorceresses or simply by being disguised as men. Along with those already mentioned, comparisons with other prominently pastoral operas such as Il pastor fi do will att empt to show whether Handel employed any specifi c musical techniques to highlight a confl ict of identity that prevents Atalanta from recognizing her former princely suitor Meleagro under the disguise of the shepherd Tirsi.

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