Handel In Rome

Händel's arrival in Rome seems to have had a miraculous influence on his development as a composer. Something in the Eternal City sparked the most productive period of his entire career: Händel worked there with some of the greatest musicians of his time and enjoyed the favor of the most important patrons of the arts. He was also a witness to how the ecclesiastical aristocracy enjoyed the luxury, debauchery and splendor that they claimed to deny in their sermons. In Handel in Rome, the Dunedin Consort and its director John Butt attempt to convey Händel's reaction to this stimulating and somewhat paradoxical environment with three Italian cantatas. Nardus Williams, winner of the Rising Talent Award at the 2022 International Opera Awards, is the star soprano.