Vivaldi at the Winter Olympics, Handel in Karlsruhe and London, Rameau in Toronto and Haydn in Seville

Vivaldi’s L’Olimpiade brings the Winter Olympics in Verona to a close

During the period between the closing ceremony of the Milan–Cortina Winter Olympic Games and the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, the Fondazione Arena di Verona has scheduled a performance of Vivaldi’s L’Olimpiade at the Teatro Ristori, reviving the athletic staging created by Emmanuel Daumas for the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games.

The intricate plot devised by Metastasio — whose immensely successful libretto was set to music by numerous eighteenth-century composers — unfolds near Olympia and celebrates the triumph of virtue and friendship. The bond between Megacle, victor of the Games, and Licida, son of the King of Crete, ultimately prevails over the impulses of the heart.

With Christian Senn, Loriana Castellano, José Maria Lo Monaco, Nicolò Balducci, the Orchestra of the Fondazione Arena di Verona and Giulio Prandi.

Tamerlano, live and blue screen in Karlsruhe

The 48th Karlsruhe Handel Festival opened with the premiere of Tamerlano, performed by a distinguished cast under René Jacobs conducting the Freiburger Barockorchester. The production’s striking originality and digital innovation lay in Kobie van Rensburg’s staging, which divides the performance space in two. The upper section presents a live black-and-white filmed version of the set, into which the characters are inserted, filmed singing in the lower part of the stage against a blue screen. On the black-and-white video image: Mari Eriksmoen, Christophe Dumaux, Thomas Walker. On the blue screen below: Mari Eriksmoen, Christophe Dumaux, Thomas Walker, Kristina Hammarström, extras from the Badisches Staatstheater, Alexander Chance.

With Mari Eriksmoen, Christophe Dumaux, Thomas Walker, the Freiburger Barockorchester and René Jacobs.

Handel’s Neun deutsche Arien in London

At St George’s Hanover Square, Handel’s own church and home of the London Handel Festival, violinist Rachel Podger joined Arcangelo’s artistic director Jonathan Cohen, along with the 2021 singing competition laureate Hilary Cronin, lutenist Thomas Dunford and cellist Jonathan Manson to present the Neun deutsche Arien to the London Handel Festival audience. These moving pieces reveal Handel at his most reflective and introspective, offering a personal insight into the great composer’s faith and religious conviction. Works by Telemann and Bach completed the programme.

With Hilary Cronin, Rachel Podger, Jonathan Manson, Thomas Dunford and Jonathan Cohen.

Rameau and the art of dance in Toronto

For four evenings at Toronto’s Trinity St. Paul’s Centre, Tafelmusik, together with the Juilliard School of New York and its ensemble Juilliard 415, presented Rameau et l’art de la danse (“Rameau and the art of dance”), a celebration of the French composer’s extraordinary theatrical music. Violinist Robert Mealy, director of Juilliard’s prestigious Historical Performance program and music director of the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, led a programme combining music and dance drawn from Rameau’s spectacular operas. His music was brought vividly to life through choreography by Baroque dancer Caroline Copeland, partnered by Julian Donahue.

With Caroline Copeland, Julian Donahue, Juilliard 415, Tafelmusik and Robert Mealy.

Royal Symphonies with the Seville Baroque Orchestra

At the Teatro Turina, the Seville Baroque Orchestra and its current resident director Martyna Pastuszka ventured into Viennese Classicism with a programme entitled Royal Symphonies, bringing together works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Michael Haydn and Mozart. A substantial wind section, including two natural horns for the brass, as well as flutes, oboes, bassoons and even timpani, pointed to the character of some of the works performed.

With the Seville Baroque Orchestra and Martyna Pastuszka.