Program
Georg Friedrich Handel (1685–1759)
Prelude
Augelletti, ruscelletti, the aria of Maria Kleopova from the oratorio La resurrezione, HWV 47 (1708)
Zadok the Priest, Coronation Anthem No. 1, HWV 258 (1727)
Disserratevi, o porte d’Averno, the aria of Angel from the oratorio La resurrezione, HWV 47 (1708)
Ah! Crudel nel pianto mio, the aria of Armida from the opera Rinaldo, HWV 78 (1711)
Overture to the opera Agrippina, HWV 6 (1709–1710)
As with Rosy Steps the Morn, the aria of Irina from the oratorio Theodora, HWV 68 (1750)
De torrente in via bibet, duet with chorus from the psalm Dixit Dominus, HWV 232 (1707)
Oh, Let the Merry Bells Ring Round, aria with chorus from the oratorio L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, HWV 55 (1740)
Pena tiranna, the aria of Dardano from the opera Amadigi di Gaula, HWV 11 (1715)
Eternal Source of Light Divine, fragment from the cantata Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, HWV 74 (1713)
Alla Hornpipe, No. 2 from the orchestral suite
The Water Music No. 2 in D Major, HWV 349 (1716–1717)
He Saw the Lovely Youth, chorus from the oratorio Theodora, HWV 68 (1750)
Piangerò la sorte mia, the aria of Cleopatra from the opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV 17 (1724)
Ah! Stigie larve — Vaghe pupille, the recitative and aria of Orlando from the opera Orlando, HWV 31 (1733)
O Love Divine, thou Source of Fame, chorus from the oratorio Theodora, HWV 68 (1750)
Sing Ye to the Lord, chorus with solo soprano from the oratorio Israel in Egypt, HWV 54 (1739)
Performers:
artists of the Anton Rubinstein Academy
Tatiana Bikmukhametova, soprano
Yulia Vakula, mezzo-soprano
Ksenia Dorodova, soprano
Diana Nosyreva, soprano
Iveta Simonyan, soprano
Sofia Tsygankova, soprano
Andrey Nemzer, countertenor, soloist and vocal coach of the Anton Rubinstein Academy
musicAeterna Choir and Orchestra
musicAeterna Dance troupe
Music Director and Conductor Teodor Currentzis
Stage Director Elizaveta Moroz
Choirmaster Vitaly Polonsky
Assistant Conductor Evgeny Vorobyov
Production Designer, Costume Designer Sergey Illarionov
Choreographer Valentina Lutsenko
Details
musicAeterna under the direction of Teodor Currentzis presents the programme Hændel. The Dedication Ceremony to George Frideric Handel. The musicAeterna Orchestra, Choir, and Dance troupe participate in this grand semi-stage project dedicated to the 340th anniversary of the composer, with solo parts performed by participants of the first enrollment at the Anton Rubinstein Academy — young and promising singers. The Hændel programme combines fragments from Handel’s majestic Old Testament oratorios, arias from his Italian operas, and virtuoso orchestral numbers. All these sounds on historical instruments and in a baroque tuning. The pastiche nature of the action follows the principles of the Baroque extravaganza with its illusiveness, multidimensionality, constant play of scales, attention to voice and space.
George Frideric Handel was born almost three and a half centuries ago, but it is difficult to name an artist of his era, paradoxically so close to us. As a true 21st-century human, he tirelessly reinvented himself throughout his life — from a brilliant theatrical novice in Hamburg, to a virtuoso harpsichordist, a young favourite of Roman nobility, the author of sensational Italian operas in London, and the creator of English oratorios. Handel organically moved between cultures and genres while remaining internally independent. Handel’s theatre is closest to the modern listener: psychologically authentic, full of strong characters, danger, and drama, yet enclosed within immaculately clear, perfect structures; it responds to the need for truth and passion, while also embodying dignity, structural clarity, and a comforting sense of form.