La Semele, ossia La richiesta fatale

(Semele, or The Fatal Request)

A serenata in two acts by Johann Adolf Hasse

Friday, March 27, 2026 | Gannon Concert Hall, DePaul University, Chicago

Juno’s jealousy, Semele’s ambition, and Jupiter’s fateful oath send Semele up in flames! Join Haymarket as it champions composer Johann Adolf Hasse with the U.S. premiere of his Neapolitan serenata, La Semele, on its 300th anniversary. 

La Semele, ossia La richiesta fatale

(Semele, or The Fatal Request)

Music by Johann Adolf Hasse
Libretto by Francesco Ricciardi

Friday, March 27, 2026, at 7pm
Performance length: 2.5 hours, including one 20-minute intermission
This performance is sung in the original Italian, with projected English titles.

Pre-concert talk
6:15pm pre-concert talk presented by Louise K. Stein.
Free for all ticket holders.

Gannon Concert Hall
Holtschneider Performance Center at DePaul University
2330 N. Halsted Ave, Chicago, IL 60614

Ticket Information

Purchase tickets through the DePaul School of Music box office
Tickets can be purchased online, in person, or by phone through the DePaul University School of Music box office. For assistance, please contact the box office by email (musicboxoffice@depaul.edu) or by phone (773-325-5200). The box office is open Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–3pm.

Early-bird ticket pricing
Purchase tickets now to take advantage of early-bird prices for this performance. Due to limited seating and high demand at the Gannon Concert Hall, this special pricing will end one month prior to the performance.

Event parking
Lincoln Common Garage: 2316 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, Il 60614
Validation stickers for discounted parking are available at the DePaul University School of Music box office 90 minutes prior to the event start and through the end of the event.

About the performance

Haymarket Opera Company presents the U.S. premiere of Johann Adolf Hasse’s rarely performed 1726 showpiece, La Semele, ossia La richiesta fatale (Semele, or The Fatal Request), to mark its 300th anniversary. Following Haymarket’s 2023 presentation of Hasse’s Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra—praised by Chicago Classical Review for providing “outstanding advocacy for Hasse’s rich score”—the company animates this mythic tale with the dazzling vocal fireworks of a star-studded trio of soloists and vibrant period instrumentation that exemplify Haymarket’s mission to champion rare and extraordinary works of 17th and 18th centuries.

Soprano Emily Birsan, described as “luminous” (The Guardian), “radiant” (London Telegraph), and "ravishing" (Opera Magazine), returns to Haymarket, performing the title role in Hasse’s La Semele, following previous performances with the company in Stradella’s Ester (2025), Handel’s Tamerlano (2024), and Scarlatti’s La Giuditta (2023). 

Following her electric performance in Haymarket’s 2025 Ravinia Festival concert presentation of George Frideric Handel’s opera Alcina, mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong returns to Haymarket as Giove (Jupiter). Considered “one of the most intelligent stage performers of her generation” (Opera News), DeShong is lauded equally for her musicianship and commanding stage presence through myriad appearances on concert and operatic stages worldwide. 

Celebrated soprano Karina Gauvin, “a soprano with true star quality” (Opera Today), makes her Haymarket debut as Giunone (Juno). Gauvin has been praised as “one of the dream sopranos of our time” (Globe and Mail). Opera News stated, "Gauvin knows how to rivet an audience in opera and concert. She has been a queen of Baroque opera for years. Her personality is big enough to dominate her elaborate wigs and costumes, and her soprano voice is like a clear, refreshing and inexhaustible spring that darts and sparkles around any ornamental obstacle in its way."

Founder and Artistic Director Craig Trompeter leads members of the acclaimed Haymarket Opera Orchestra, renowned for its “impressive expression” (Chicago Tribune). Haymarket General Director Chase Hopkins provides direction for this semi-staged concert presentation.

The Cast

Semele: Emily Birsan, soprano

Giove: Elizabeth DeShong, mezzo-soprano

Giunone: Karina Gauvin, soprano

The Instrumental Ensemble

Leader & Cello: Craig Trompeter

Violin I:  Jeri-Lou Zike, Charlene Kluegel

Violin II: Wendy Benner, Amelia Sie

Viola: Elizabeth Hagen, Bruno Vaz da Silva

Bass: Jerry Fuller

Harpsichord: Jacob Reed

Performance Support

Stage Director: Chase Hopkins

Assistant Director: TBD

Stage Manager: Alycia Martin

Pre-performance Lecturer: Louise K. Stein

Program Note: Louise K. Stein

Surtitle Translator: Craig Trompeter

Projected Titles Operator: TBD

Ushering support provided by The Saints: Volunteers for the Performing Arts

Synopsis

Hasse’s La Semele, ossia La richiesta fatale (Semele, or The Fatal Request) dramatizes the tragic consequences of desire and divine caprice in Classical mythology. Semele, a mortal woman loved by Jupiter, becomes ensnared by her own curiosity and ambition after Jupiter’s jealous wife Juno (in disguise) urges her to demand that Jupiter reveal himself to her in his true godly form. Semele’s unwittingly deadly demand tests the limits of love, trust, and mortal ambition against the power of the deities. This fatal request sets in motion a chain of events that leads to her fiery demise.

About the composer

“He [Hasse] may…be allowed to be as superior to all other lyric composers, as Metastasio is to all other lyric poets.” —Charles Burney, A General History of Music, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Period, vol. 4 (London, 1789), p. 679.

The prolific composer Johann Adolf Hasse (1699–1783), known as the “dear Saxon,” became the leading composer of opera seria in the 18th century, renowned for his lyrical, expressive style and mastery of vocal writing. His virtuoso arias and elegant orchestration thrilled audiences across Europe, from Dresden to Venice and Lisbon to St. Petersburg.  He was beloved by singers as a supreme craftsman of Italian arias. Following Haymarket’s 2023 triumph with Hasse’s Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra—praised by Chicago Classical Review for providing “outstanding advocacy for Hasse’s rich score”—the company will continue its exploration of this master composer with the U.S. premiere of his rarely heard serenata, La Semele.

About the librettist

The librettist of La Semele, ossia, La richiesta fatale is Francesco Ricciardi, one of the leading creators of Italian comic musical theater in early 18th-century Naples. His delightful libretto for Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra was the first of two Neapolitan collaborations with Hasse.

If you require access support to fully participate or have any questions about accessibility, please contact us at info@haymarketopera.org. To ensure the best experience, please try to contact us at your earliest convenience.