Handel's Acis and Galatea, North London Collegiate School

Today, Edgware’s surroundings might not seem conducive to composing a mythological pastoral opera. But the area had stronger bucolic credentials back in 1718, and it was there that Handel wrote Acis and Galatea. At the time he was living at Cannons, the estate of the first Duke of Chandos, which eventually became the suburb of Canons. Now, thanks to the marvellous Handel House Museum, the work will be revived in the place where its life began, with a special performance at North London Collegiate School in June.  

Acis and Galatea tells a simple story. Acis, a shepherd, falls in love with the nymph Galatea – only to incur the wrath of the jealous giant Polyphemus. But with Handel’s sparkling score and a libretto by John Gay (which includes contributions from Alexander Pope), the work is a triumph of 18th-century aesthetics. 

The evening at North London Collegiate will attempt to conjure up something of the period’s spirit. Acis and Galatea is thought to have had its first outing in front of a small audience at Cannons on a summer evening – and this performance, in the 325-seat North London Collegiate theatre, will be similarly intimate. There’ll also be an outdoor champagne reception beforehand, along with the option of staying on for a picnic in the garden afterwards (ready-made hampers are available, offering an intriguing “18th-century menu”). For true enthusiasts, there’s going to be an afternoon tour of the nearby church in which Handel played the organ and an Acis and Galatea exhibition at the school.    

Conducting the opera is Laurence Cummings, who has a distinguished record of historical performances with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the English National Opera. He’ll be directing instrumentalists and vocalists from La Nuova Musica – an ensemble widely praised for their fresh, lively approach to baroque music – and a chorus of sixth-formers drawn from North London Collegiate and Harrow School.