Handel’s Leading Ladies

In 18th-century London, the operatic stage was as much a site of social spectacle as of musical innovation, shaped by star performers, fashionable audiences and the ambitions of a rapidly expanding cultural scene.

At its centre stood Handel, whose works were brought vividly to life by leading international singers and musicians, two of whom were Italian rivals, Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni. Fuelled by public intrigue and partisan audiences, their famed rivalry became part of London’s cultural fabric, as did the striking contrast between their voices: Cuzzoni’s pure, expressive lyricism set against Bordoni’s brilliance and virtuosity.

George Frideric Handel Concerto Grosso Op.6 No.6 in Bb 'Torni omai la pace from Tolomeo No, più soffrir non voglio' from 'Alessandro' 
Giovanni Bononcini Prelude from 'Il Lamento d’Olimpia'
George Frideric Handel 'False Imagine' from 'Ottone'  
Giovanni Bononcini 'Difese mi giurasti' from 'Astianatte'

John Butt director 
Nardus Williams soprano
 

Presented by Dunedin Consort