Handel: Theodora - García-Alarcón
Ricercar RIC485 (3 discs)
Stereo
Classical - Opera
Sophie Junker: soprano (Theodora)
Dara Savinova: mezzo-soprano (Irene)
Christopher Lowrey: counter-tenor (Didymus)
Matthew Newlin: tenor (Septimius)
Frederico Projecto: tenor (Messenger)
Andreas Wolf: bass (Valens)
Chœur de Chambre de Namur
Millenium Orchestra
Leonardo García-Alarcón (conductor)
The oratorio Theodora was first performed at the Covent Garden Theatre on 16 March 1750 and clearly took Londoners by surprise. Handel had, after all, made a one hundred and eighty degree turn in his choice of subject.
The grandiose episodes of the Old Testament, the glorious struggles of Solomon, Saul or Judas Maccabaeus are no more: the young martyr Theodora leads neither a community nor troops into battle. In a work far removed from the grand spectacle of biblical oratorios, Handel invites us to witness the poignant tale of a personal drama, a drama of the beginnings of Christianity fuelled by conscience, faith, and the heartbreak that they cause.
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