About the work
Il pastor fido is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel, set to a libretto that Giacomo Rossi drastically condensed from Battista Guarini's pastoral drama of the same name (1590). After the triumph of Rinaldo, Handel deliberately chose a simpler pastoral subject requiring only six singers. He completed the score on 24 October 1712; the premiere took place on 22 November 1712 at the Queen's Theatre in London.
Plot
In mythical Arcadia, an ancient curse demands the annual sacrifice of a virgin to the goddess Diana until two people of divine descent marry and a faithful shepherd atones for a maiden's inconstancy. The shepherd Mirtillo loves the nymph Amarilli, who is betrothed to the huntsman Silvio; intrigues by the jealous Eurilla put Amarilli's life at risk. Only when Mirtillo proves to be the prophesied faithful shepherd are the curse and the entanglements resolved together.
Cultural significance
The modest staging and smaller cast, coming after Rinaldo's spectacle, disappointed London audiences; one contemporary noted tersely in his diary that the scenery showed only Arcadia, the costumes were old, and the opera was short. Handel thoroughly reworked the piece in 1734, adding a prologue, "Terpsicore", and ballet sequences for Marie Sallé, giving it a more successful second life on stage.