The Händel Festival Halle has announced its 2022 slate, marking the company’s 100^th anniversary.

For the purposes of this article, our focus will be on vocal and operatic performances.

The festival kicks off with a production of “Orlando” starring Xavier Sabata, Franziska Krötenheerdt, Yulia Sokolik, Vanessa Waldhart, and KiHyun Park. Christian Curnym conducts a production by Walter Sutcliffe.

Performance Dates: May 27- June 10, 2022

Wolfgang Katschner conducts Franco Citterio and Giovanni Schiavolin’s production of “Ariodante,” which stars Elias Arranz, Hanna Zumsande, Ida Aldrian, Florian Sievers, Julia Böhme, and Birita Poulsen. The showcase is presented by Compagnia Marionettistica Carlo Colla e Figli.

Performance Dates: May 28- 30, 2022 

Massimo Mazzeo will lead Händel’s “Messiah” with Ruth Ziesak, Kristina Hammarström, Tilman Lichdi, and Thomas E. Bauer. The Gulbenkian Choir and the orchestra Divino Sospiro will join them.

Performance Dates: May 28, 2022 

Philippe Jaroussky will lead Ensemble Artaserse and soprano Emöke Baráth in a performance of music from “Giulio Cesare in Egitto.”

Performance Dates: May 28, 2022

Countertenor Iestyn Davies and La Nuova Musica, under David Bates, will perform Händel arias.

Performance Dates: May 29, 2022 

Music director Philipp Ahmann will lead the Leipzig Baroque Opera and the MDR Radio Choir in a performance of “Susanna.” The oratorio will star Alex Potter, Marie Lys, Ciara Hendrick, Benjamin Hulett, and Benjamin Bevan.

Performance Dates: May 29, 2022

There will be an academic conference entitled “Orlando and the History of Händel’s Operas in the 20^th and 21^st century.”

Performance Dates: May 30-June 1, 2022

Leo Duarte will lead a performance of “Fernando, Re di Castiglia,” an opera fragment from the work “Sosarme.” The showcase will star Susanna Fairbairn, Nick Scott, Chiara Hendrick, Jess Dandy, Frederick Long, and Charlie Morris. Duarte will also lead the Opera Settecento in a performance of Händel’s Oboe Concerto in G minor. The performance is presented in cooperation with the London Händel Festival.

Performance Dates: May 31, 2022

There will be a round table discussion entitled “Händel Operas between Madness and Reality.” Participants include Howard Arman, Donald Burrows, Bernhard Forck, and Silke Leopold, among others.

Performance Dates: June 1, 2022 

Soprano Roberta Mameli and bass Johnathan de la Paz Saenz will join the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin for the “Chamber Concert of 28 May 1922.”

Performance Dates: June 1, 2022

Michael Hofstetter will conduct the “Brockes-Passion HWV 48” with Walter Sutcliffe directing. Soloists include Robert Sellier, Michael Zehe, Romelia Lichtenstein, Vanessa Waldhart, Leandro Marziotte, Ki-Hyun Park, and Yulia Sokolik. They are joined by the Halle Opera Chorus and Handel Festival Orchestra Halle.

Performance Dates: June 2 – 12, 2022

Sir William Christie will lead Les Arts Florissants and sopranos Shakèd Bar and Jessica Niles in “Arminta e Fillide: Arresta il passo.”

Performance Dates: June 4, 2022

Music Director Howard Arman will lead the Konzertchor Leipzig and the Robert-Franz-Singakademie for a performance of “Semele.”

Performance Dates: June 05, 2022

Erich Traxler will conduct two performances of “Siroe, Re di Persia” starring Matthias Helm, Clint van der Linde, Nicholas Hariades, Annastina Malm, Amelie Müller, and Philipp Kranjc. They are joined by L’Orfeo Barockorchester.

Performance Dates: June 5 & 6, 2022

 

 

Conductor Ottavio Dantone will lead  the Accademia Bizantina in a performance of “La bellezza ravveduta nel trionfo del tempo e del disinganno.” Soloists include Emmanuelle de Negri, Monica Piccinini, Carlos Mena, and Martin Vanberg.

Performance Dates: June 5, 2022

Zefira Valova and Il Pomo d’Oro will perform music by Händel with such soloists as soprano Inga Kalna, Maite Beaumont, Annett Renneberg, and Donna Leon.

Performance Dates: June 6, 2022

Soprano Margret Bahr will headline “Baroque Lounge II: Morphine,” which will also feature Musica Sequenza, under Burak Özdemir.

Performance Dates: June 6, 2022

Mehmet C. Yesilcay will lead “Timur und Bayezid” starring Laila Salome Fischer, Gerald Thompson, Jorge Morata, and Marzen Mohsen. The Pera Ensemble Istanbul performs.

Performance Dates: June 8, 2022

Attilio Cremonesi will lead the “Symphonic Concert of 26 May 1922” which will star an alto and bass who will be named at a future date. The performance will feature the Händel Festival Orchestra Halle.

Performance Dates: June 9, 2022

Conductor Nicolas Kierdorf and director Ute M. Engelhardt will present a pastiche opera, “Caio Fabbricio,” starring Lukasz Konieczny, Julie Vercauteren, Fanny Lustaud, Anne-Aurore Cochet, Yeagook Kang, Melina Meschkat, and Julia Spies. The Concert Royal Köln Baroque Orchestra performs.

Performance Dates: June 10, 2022

Wolfgang Katschner leads a gala concert starring Vivica Genaux and Valer Sabadus.

Performance Dates: June 10, 2022 

Soprano Giulia Semenzato headlines “Angelica Diabolica and the Heroines of Orlando Furioso.” The showcase will feature Baptiste Lopez leading the Kammerorchester Basel.

Performance Dates: June 11, 2022

Baritone Jerome Knox joins forces with harpsichordist Asako Ogawa for a Lunchtime Concert entitled “Hero or Tyrant.”

Performance Dates: June 12, 2022

The season draws to a close with an outdoor concert featuring soprano Carine Tinney, the Choir of the Protestant University of Sacred Music, Vocal Concert Dresden, and the Staatskapelle Halle. Peter Kopp conducts.

Performance Dates: June 12, 2022

There will also be guest lectures, roundtables, and events related to Händel’s works and operas. Audiences will also get a chance to see a guided tour of the works of legendary costume and stage designer Bernd Leistner.