Handel
Theodora
Lisette Oropesa, Joyce DiDonato, Michael Spyres, John Chest et al; Il Pomo d’Oro/Maxim Emelyanychev
Erato 5419717791 178:08 mins (3 discs)
This is now the benchmark Theodora; it is optimally cast, dramatically intense and luminously beautiful. Its world-class principals use their fine vocal qualities to deepen their characters. With a precocious band and commanding chorus under Maxim Emelyanychev, the result is spellbinding.
Composing in 1749, Handel broke with the conventions he himself had embedded in English oratorio. Instead of Anglican uplift,
