Q & A: Artistic Director & Conductor George Petrou on This Season’s International Händel Festival in Göttingen

(Photo: FreddieF) This year’s International Händel Festival in Göttingen kicks off on May 16th and will run until May 25th. The festival will present a range of events dedicated to the composer, including lectures, concerts, recitals, and readings, along with the eighth edition of its Händel competition. The centerpiece of the festival will be five staged performances of the composer’s {…}

Oct 8, 2024

Komische Oper Berlin 2024-25 Review: Messiah

(Photo: Jan Windszus Photography) Ever since its premiere in 1742, George Frederic Handel’s “Messiah” has been considered a work of vocal and intellectual power. All the more so when it is performed in an airport hangar, with over 350 choir members, dramatically staged, on a stage over 180 feet wide. The Komische Oper Berlin hashtags #everything extraordinary – in large {…}

Jun 6, 2024

Göttingen International Händel Festival 2024 Review: Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno

(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 {…}

May 28, 2024

Göttingen International Händel Festival 2024 Review: Sarrasine

(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 {…}

Aug 22, 2023

Rossini Opera Festival 2023 Review: Aureliano In Palmira

(Photo: Amati Bacciardi) A group of shepherds wander onto the stage. Among them are three goats being given some food to eat. There should have been four goats, but apparently one had escaped. They spent their time chewing away, seemingly oblivious to the ongoing stage movement and singing, strange surroundings of the theatre and the sound of the orchestra. At {…}

Jul 10, 2023

Olympia City Music Theatre Maria Callas Unveils 2023-24 Season

Credit: Danae Kinova The Olympia City Music Theatre Maria Callas has unveiled its 2023-24 season, which includes three operas in both staged productions and concert versions. The season features a blend of Greek artists and international stars, including a concert by soprano Julie Fuchs. For the purposes of this article only opera and classical voice performances are listed. The season {…}

Jun 5, 2023

International Händel Festival, Göttingen 2023 Review: Semele

(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 {…}

May 27, 2023

International Handel Festival, Göttingen 2023 Review: Hercules

(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 {…}

Sep 28, 2021

Bayreuth Baroque Festival 2021 Review: Carlo il Calvo

(Photo: Falk von Traubenberg) Very occasionally we are fortunate enough to experience an opera production that leaves an indelible imprint on our memories; a never-forgotten experience in which adjectives such as ‘brilliant,’ ‘breath-taking’ or ‘stunning’ come to mind and can be used without any sense of exaggeration. Such was the case with Bayreuth Baroque Festival’s performance of Nicolà Porpora’s opera {…}