When Diana finds out that one of her nymphs has broken her vow of chastity and has been meeting with a shepherd in the garden of the temple at night, she wants to punish everyone involved. She ties Aura to a tree, hoping that her lover will reveal himself and try to rescue her, but the goddess Venus intervenes in Diana’s plot, and transforms Aura into the wind. Aura’s lover, Erostrato vows to follow Aura, and get his vengeance against Diana for separating them.
Meanwhile, Céfalo has been wandering through the forest, looking for opportunities to demonstrate his heroism. He sees Aura tied to a tree and tries to help this distressed damsel, but he is quickly distracted by another beautiful nymph, and vows to steal her away from Diana’s service.
When Erostrato sets Diana’s temple on fire, he thinks he has finally got the vengeance he was longing for, but Diana has far more firepower in her arsenal. She summons the three furies, Megera, Alecto, and Tesífone, and charges them to wreak her vengeance against the three who have betrayed her.
Based on the myth of Cephalus and Procris, Hidalgo’s Celos aun del aire matan is widely considered to be the first Spanish language opera, and builds on the work of Hidalgo’s contemporaries, such as Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi.
Celos aun del air matan guide sections
