Building on the phenomenal success of their 2006 Baroque Opera Festival, ETO return with their most ambitious project yet. One week, five operas and a comprehensive programme of education events, talks and recitals to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the death of Georg Frederic Handel; you are invited to take a week out of your life and lose yourself in the unparalleled pleasure of Handelfest.
FLAVIO Tuesday 17 November
A joyous comedy with a serious sub-plot, ETO’s new period-costume production of Flavio (1724) follows every mood swing in the score from the morning-after duet for sopranos to the light filled, joyful final chorus.
‘An astonishing achievement… the theatricality emerges with effortless artifice.’ THE SUNDAY TIMES
TESEO Wednesday 18 November*
Teseo (1713) represents Handel’s youthful brilliance, telling the story of Theseus, a shining hero who sets many hearts fluttering including his nervous father, his virtuous fiancée and her maid and the powerful enchantress Medea.
‘A damn good evening’s entertainment… if you’ve never tried opera before, don’t think about it – just book and go.’ THE GUARDIAN
TOLOMEO Thursday 19 November*
Recounting the fates of two ship-wrecked sons of Cleopatra (a savage mother indeed), this strange, beautiful opera looks at the poor, the lost and exploited people of the earth, whose dignity and faith is truly inspiring. Tolomeo (1728) is a confirmation of all that is good in mankind in the face of corruption.
‘This strong production plays itself out on the seashore, where refugees are washed ashore to land like driftwood… adding immeasurably to the opera’s disturbing atmosphere’ THE GUARDIAN
ALCINA Friday 20 November
At the heart of Alcina (1732) is an enchantress whose rejected passion for a married (but forgetful) man drives her to lonely, futile revenge. She is Handel’s most splendid creation – seductive, tender and terrifying.
‘Casts a spell from its first moments.’ THE TIMES
ARIODANTE Saturday 21 November
In Ariodante (1732) the brightest hopes, the sweetest innocence and harmony, clash with the wildest seas, the bleakest thoughts and the most visceral journey back to light. ETO’s gripping production is set amongst a dissenting Scottish sect in the early nineteenth century.
‘The minutely pondered body-language articulates the humanity and the drama of Handel’s score.’ THE TIMES
