Handel: Giove in Argo
Britten Theatre, 26 March 2015
Laurence Cummings conductor
London Handel Orchestra

Like London busses, you can wait for ages to hear a pasticcio opera, and then three come along at once. After Fabio Biondi’s reconstruction of Vivaldi’s compilation L’Oracolo in Messenia at The Barbican and Opera Settecento’s excellent concert performance of Handel’s 1732 compilation opera Catone in Utica (both reviewed below), along came Handel’s 1739 Giove in Argo. It was considered lost until some arias were discovered a few years ago. John H Roberts has reconstructed and edited the score (for Bärenreiter), adding missing recitatives. After recent outings in Göttingen, Hanover and Halle, this was the first UK performance since 1739. It was given in the intimate space of the Britten Theatre with singers from the RCM International Opera School as part of the London Handel Festival.

The plot is loosely drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. It focuses on the antics of a rather naughty Giove (Jove/Jupiter) and his attempts to seduce Continue reading →