Article: 'Semele's' timeless tale unrequited love told well; Handel & Haydn Society's "Semele," Symphony Hall, Boston, Friday night; also today.

Handel's "Semele" might seem as ideal for Halloween as his "Messiah" is for Christmas. It's a tale of Roman gods in clever disguises using magic spells that can make humans seem immortal or transport them to the heavens. But in the sophisticated concert staging by Daniel Pelzig Friday night at Symphony Hall - brought to us by the Handel & Haydn Society - "Semele" seemed less like a fairy tale and more like a modern comedy of manners with a moral: Pride goeth before a fall.

Indeed "Semele" has one of the oldest plots in the book, one good for any place and time. It's a chain of unrequited love in which Ino (mezzo-soprano Theodora Hanslowe) loves Athamas ...

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