From the 2009 Salzburg Fest­iv­al
Ora­tor­io by George Frider­ic Han­del
Words by Thomas Mo­rell

A high­light of the Han­del com­mem­or­ative year (250^th an­niversary of death) was the Salzburg Fest­iv­al’s first-ever sta­ging of Han­del’s ora­tor­io “Theodora” of 1750.

Chris­tof Loy cre­ated a pro­duc­tion that is, in his words, “al­most as an in­stall­a­tion”, and groups his char­ac­ters around the re­mains of a gi­gant­ic or­gan in situ­ations that echo the lib­retto’s tra­gic di­lemma of love, faith and vir­tue.

His concept is sup­por­ted by the vig­or­ous Ivor Bolton and the Freibur­ger Barock­orchester play­ing on ori­gin­al in­stru- ments, the Salzbur­ger Bach­chor, and, above all, by a fine cast. It is led by the lu­min­ous Christine Schäfer as a Theodora who “per­fectly en­cap­su­lates the heroine’s combi-na­tion of fra­gil­ity and de­fi­ance” (AFP), and coun­terten­or Be­jun Me­hta, who “ex­cels as Theodora’s lov­er Didymus” (The New York Times).

Video dir­ect­or Hannes Rossach­er, known both in the pop and clas­sic­al worlds, cap­tures the es­sence of this work.