About the work
"Atalanta" is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel, its anonymously adapted libretto drawn from Belisario Valeriani's "La caccia in Etolia" (1715). Handel wrote it to celebrate the wedding of Frederick, Prince of Wales, to Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha on 27 April 1736, finishing the score only days before its premiere at Covent Garden Theatre on 12 May 1736.
Plot
King Meleagro and Princess Atalanta live disguised as shepherds, unaware of each other's true identity. Jealousy and mistaken identity among the other characters delay the moment they realise they are already in love; the opera closes with Jupiter himself blessing their union.
Cultural significance
The pastoral finale culminated in a fireworks display that moved the poet Thomas Gray to describe "a fountain of fire" and a shower of gold-colour, silver, and blue fiery rain. The newly married prince and princess skipped the premiere, attending a revival only "by command" in November 1736, and the opera received just eight performances that competitive season.