Tanti Strali al Sen mi Scocchi
This duet explores the titillating nature of love and desire, depicted with effervescent excitement at its beginning, contrasted with the weight of the possibility of its loss.
Samson
The genesis of Handel’s Samson The season in which Handel premièred Samson, at Covent Garden Theatre on 18 February 1743, marked his final departure from Italian opera and his permanent turn to English word-setting. The last of his more than 30 Italian operas for London had been produced, to small enthusiasm, in 1741. During that summer he wrote Messiah, which …
Armida Abbandonata
An early work of Handel, this secular cantata was composed in 1707, and premiered that same year at the Palazzo Bonelli, in Rome. Wanting to write opera after his early success in Hamburg, Handel traveled to Italy; however upon arrival in Rome, Handel discovered that opera had been banned by Papal edict. In lieu of opera, Roman aristocracy hosted performances of secular cantatas, which were, for all intents and purposes, short operas without staging. Handel delved into this form, writing over 100 of these chamber cantatas for various patrons.
Handel’s Giulio Cesare
Love, betrayal, family drama, and political intrigue—Handel’s blockbuster heroic opera recounts the historic meeting of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, through a series of unforgettable arias, vivid characterizations, and sumptuous orchestration. British soprano Louise Alder sings the seductive central role of Cleopatra, opposite French countertenor Christophe Dumaux as her Caesar. It is hard to overstate the sublime performances …
