Pepusch: Venus & Adonis

Johann Christoph Pepusch's Venus and Adonis premiered at London's Theatre Royal in 1715. Inspired by the operas of composers like Giovanni Battista Bononcini and Alessandro Scarlatti, it was the most substantial effort of the period to "reconcile Musick to the English Tongue." These works bristle with Italian virtuosity and dynamism and unlike most dramatic music of the time, Venus and Adonis makes ample use of dramatic recitative. A clar model for Handel's later works.