Special Exhibit Coming to Handel Hendrix House to Mark 300th Anniversary of ‘Rodelinda’

By Afton Markay
(Photo credit: John Vandenbank, Private Collection, UK)

The Handel Hendrix House will hold an exhibition celebrating the 300th anniversary of the composition and first performance of Handel’s opera, “Rodelinda.”

The centerpiece is a portrait of original cast member, castrato Senesino. John Vandenbank’s 1725 painting depicts the singer in character as Bertarido. He is shown in costume, described at the time as “Hungarian habit” at the moment in the opera that Bertarido sings “Dove sei,” which soon became one of Handel’s most popular arias. However, the aria was described by the painting’s subsequent owner James Harris in an inscription on the back of the portrait as, “a most pathetic and capital song.”

In addition to the portrait, the exhibition will include an early libretto of the opera, portraits of other cast members, and objects illustrating opera-going culture from the 18th century. “Rodelinda,” which was written in the Handel Hendrix House, was the first of Handel’s operas to be revived in the 20th century, when Oskar Hagen staged a performance in Gottingen in 1920.

Olwen Foulkes, curator of the exhibition at Handel Hendrix House, said in a press release, “Rodelinda is the second of the three masterpieces Handel wrote just after moving into Brook Street, which would be his home and place of work for over 30 years. We are excited to be marking the 300th anniversary of the composition in Brook Street and its first performance with this exhibition in a room in Handel’s house, featuring this wonderful portrait of Senesino. Paintings and descriptions of singers’ costumes from this time are rare, and we hope that this exhibition will help our visitors to immerse themselves in the world of ‘Rodelinda’s’ first performance.”

The exhibition will open on Feb. 13, 2025 and run until July 6, 2025.

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