Theodora
George Frideric Handel
Handel’s sublime and poignant Theodora.
Dates
Lea Desandre | Theodora
Hugh Cutting | Didymus
Véronique Gens | Irene
Laurence Kilsby | Septimius
Alex Rosen | Valens
Ensemble Jupiter
Thomas Dunford | direction
About
Theodora, Handel’s penultimate work and his only mature oratorio with a Christian theme, is not just an extraordinarily intense late-career piece, but also a sublime plea for tolerance. In 1749, the musician was sixty-four years old; his successes in the opera seria genre were already far behind him and he had turned his talents to the oratorio form. With dramatic power worthy of the greatest tragedies, the work celebrates the martyrdom of this chaste Christian woman who was persecuted by the Romans in the early days of Christianity. This grandiose score uses the full richness of colour and nuance to extol virtue and faith.
Production Théâtre des Champs-Élysées