| Theodora by Handel |
| Handel's dramatic oratorio Theodora had its premiere on March 16, 1750. The story is about Christian martyrs in ancient Rome. |
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| A recording of Theodora conducted by Nicholas McGegan with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in the title role can be ordered from amazon.com. |
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| A video (VHS) of the Glyndebourne staged production of Theodora, updated to modern-day America, is available from amazon.com. Cast List Dawn Upshaw ... Theodora David Daniels ... Didymus Frode Olsen ... Valens Richard Croft ... Septimius Lorraine Hunt ... Irene |
| Boston Baroque performed Theodora at Jordan Hall in Boston on May 2 and 3, 2003, at 8 p.m. Among the soloists were Sharon Baker, Mary Phillips, David Walker, and Michael Dean. My comments |
| David Daniels includes four of Didymus's arias from Theodora in his album Oratorio Arias. Daniels "rejoices in the wonderful music Handel composed for the young Italian castrato, Gaetano Guadagni, who 12 years after the first performance was to achieve immortality as Gluck's first Orfeo. Handel must have been entranced by this voice in 1750--he only occasionally used castratos in his Biblical oratorios--for in 'The raptur'd soul', 'Kind Heav'n' and the delectable 'Sweet Rose andLilly' he exploits the androgynous voluptuousness of the male alto voice to a degree found only in his finest Italian operas. The sensuous colours of Daniels' falsetto are ideal in this music, which he sings with beguiling erotic amibguity," wrote Hugh Canning in the September 2002 issue of Gramophone. The recording is available from amazon.com and from amazon.co.uk. |
| July 2003 Warner Classics has recently released a recording of Handel's Theodora with Les Arts Florissants conducted by William Christie, on the Erato Disques label. Among the soloists are Sophie Daneman, Daniel Taylor, Richard Croft, and Nathan Berg. The recording can be ordered from amazon.co.uk. "Soprano Sophie Daneman sang the title role with a sweet, virginal timbre. Her rendering of 'Angels ever bright and fair' was ineffably beautiful," wrote reviewer Philip Anson at frenchculture.org of a May 2000 performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. |
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| Review by Andrew Clements, dated August 12, 2003, at guardian.co.uk of a Glyndebourne staged peformance of Handel's Theodora |
| The DVD version of the staged Glyndebourne production (1996) was released in late June 2004 at amazon.com and amazon.co.uk. |
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| Handel Theodora Le Concert d'Astrée / Haïm 17 October 2006 / 19:00 Barbican Hall Le Concert d’Astrée Orchestra & Chorus Emmanuelle Haïm conductor Geraldine McGreevy Theodora Anne Sofie von Otter Irene Matthew Rose Valens Stephen Wallace Didymus Paul Agnew Septimus |