(Photo: Alciro Theodoro Da Silva) Productions of Handel’s 1707 oratorio “Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno” in its first version (HWV 46a) are by no means rare. A conversational piece with plenty of contrasting moods and emotional tension but little in the way of physical action, it is often presented as a concert performance, although successful staged productions are {…}
(Photo: Alciro Theodoro Da Silva) The headline event at this year’s Göttingen Händel Festival was the world premiere of “Sarrasine,” a recently constructed opera by the librettist Laurence Dale and the conductor George Petrou, based on the novella of the same name by H. Balzac using music composed by Händel. A New Pasticcio Using Händel’s Rejected Music The project originated {…}
Anthony Hopkins is set to star in a biopic about the life of George Frideric Händel. Variety reports that the two-time Academy Award-winning actor will interpret the role of the famed composer in “The King of Covent Garden,” set during the period when Händel worked on his choral masterpiece “Messiah.” The movie will be produced by Embankment Films, which produced {…}
(Photo Credits: H. Paul Moon) Performed among the foliage and resplendences of Campos Community Garden in New York City, one of a myriad of analogous respites, sanctuaries if you will, from the tyranny of cement and metal, the monotonous timbres and assaults of the urban soundscape, and the droning apathy and cold banality of inner-city dwelling, the caressing melodiousness of {…}
(Photo: Elisa Andreassi) Barocco Europeo, founded by Donatella Busetto, is a small association aimed at promoting early music through concerts, masterclasses, seminars and staged operas mainly, although not exclusively, in the north-east of Italy. It is a small-scale operation on a limited budget and tends to perform in small theaters in towns and cities of various sizes, with variable opportunities {…}
(Photo: Falk von Traubenburg) Max Cenčić has a long-established reputation as a sensitive and technically brilliant virtuoso countertenor. However, over the past six or seven years, he has also become increasingly known for his skills as a stage director owing to a string of stunning productions, such as Hasse’s “Siroe,” which he toured in 2017. In 2020, he was appointed {…}
Photo: Michele Crosera In 1707, Händel arrived in Rome and soon made the acquaintance of important members of the papacy, including Cardinal Benedetto Pamphilj, from whom he received his first major libretto, “Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno.” Because public performances of operas in Rome had been forbidden by papal ban in 1703, Handel made this an oratorio. Although {…}
(Photo: Alciro Theodoro da Silva) The centerpiece of this year’s International Handel Festival in Göttingen was five performances of the composer’s 1644 music drama “Semele,” in a new production conducted and directed by the festival’s artistic director George Petrou. At the final curtain, the audience greeted the cast with a thoroughly deserved standing ovation. The bravos rang out around the {…}
(Photo: Alciro Theodoro da Silva) Having survived the Reformation, allied bombing during World War Two and even an arson attack in 2005, Göttingen’s St. Johannis’ Church, which can trace its roots back to at least 1272, stands proudly overlooking the streets of the city’s historical centre. The current church, which dates back to the 14th century, has been added to {…}
At the age of 21, mezzo-soprano Giuseppina Bridelli made her professional debut in the role of Despina under the baton of Diego Fasolis, since which time she has been on what appears to be a never-ending upward trajectory. Now firmly established as one of the leading interpreters of the baroque repertoire, she is an artist constantly in demand, performing at {…}
Detroit Opera performed George Friederich Handel’s opera “Xerxes,” written from 1737 to 1738, on commission by the King’s Theatre in London. With a change of hands only months behind, Yuval Sharon has a huge legacy to continue, which was frustrated by the opera’s subpar performance. With a stellar orchestra but a shaky cast, Detroit Opera’s renovated Handel was a very {…}
