Dare Haendel !

A spectacular anthology of the most beautiful dramatic works by Georg Friedrich Handel (1685-1759), this concert invites you to plunge into the unique and bewitching universe of the Italian operas serias of the “caro sassone”. The program includes a refined selection of excerpts, ranging from Agrippina – a youthful work applauded at its premiere in Venice in 1709 – to the London masterpieces of Giulio Cesare and Tamerlano (1724), and to works of full maturity such as Alcina (1735), whose Act II ends with a “rare moment of dramatic intensity” according to Christophe Rousset (“Ombre pallide”).

Undisputed master of the genre, which he manages to impose in England, his adopted land, Handel surrounds himself with leading singers (Margherita Durastanti; Francesca Cuzzoni; the castrato Senesino, etc.) for whom he composes tailor-made roles, sublimating their talents.

In their honor, Christophe Rousset in turn brings together an exceptional cast: the dazzling Sandrine Piau, a lifelong accomplice of the Talens Lyriques, the Haendelian virtuoso Christophe Dumaux (who notably performed a marvelous Tamerlano with the ensemble in 2015 at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie and the Amsterdam Opera), and the remarkable Eve-Maud Hubeaux, who was recently admired under the Maestro’s direction in Agrippina and Giulio Cesare. Some instrumental gems from these great works will finally complete the program, divinely served by the instrumentalists of the Talens Lyriques.

Under these conditions, no doubt possible, one must dare Handel!

A Les Talens Lyriques coproduction, with the generous support of Les Talens Lyriques’ Circle of Patrons.