Radio 3 and BBC2 join forces for a simultaneous live relay of English National Opera's latest Handel hit, Semele, with Rosemary Joshua in the title role in Robert Carsen 's production, already acclaimed in Flanders and Aix-en-
Provence and now restaged for the London Coliseum. The notoriously lecherous god Jupiter has the hots for the mortal Semele, daughter of King Cadmus of Thebes, and whisks her off to higher things. Jupiter's wife Juno is, as usual, furious, but says to herself: don't get mad, get even. Helped by the fact that - not surprisingly - Semele rather fancies herself as a goddess, Juno hatches a brilliant plan. This entails tricking Semele into insisting that, before they consummate their relationship, Jupiter must show himself to her not in human form but in his full glory as a god, something that Juno reckons will be too much for the mortal Semele.
Chorus and Orchestra of English National Opera, conductor Harry Bicket Acts 1 and 2 8.40 During the interval, Charles Hazlewood takes a look at the source of Semele's story: Roman poet Ovid's Metamorphoses - magical verse stories of the gods at play with humans. What is it about them that has so inspired artists, musicians and writers down the centuries?
9.00 Act 3
SIMULTANEOUS BROADCAST WITH BBC2
+ Brian Kay 's Opera of the Week: p44