About the work
Deidamia is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel and the last work he wrote for the Italian opera stage. Paolo Antonio Rolli's libretto tells of the mythical Achilles hidden in women's clothing at the court of Lycomedes on Skyros. Handel composed the opera between 27 October and 20 November 1740; the premiere took place on 10 January 1741 at the Theatre Royal, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in London.
Plot
With the Trojan War looming, King Lycomedes has disguised the young Achilles as a girl named "Pyrrha" to keep him from the fighting. Lycomedes' daughter Deidamia secretly loves Achilles despite his disguise. Ulysses exposes him with a ruse, offering him weapons he cannot resist; Achilles answers the call to war, leaving a devastated Deidamia behind.
Cultural significance
With only three performances, Deidamia was a failure and was not rediscovered until the twentieth century. As Handel's last opera it marks the close of a roughly thirty-five-year career as an opera composer before he turned decisively to English oratorio; the subtle psychological portrait of its heroine is now regarded as one of the most mature character studies of his late work.