Theodora Bruns

It is remarkable that Theodora, this gem of an Oratorio, whose musical quality Handel himself considered to be particularly outstanding, seems to be largely unknown to professional musicians and the expert audience. This is even more astonishing as this masterpiece (in the versions of its first performance lasting nearly three hours) is definitely an absolute highlight of Handel’s creative work, not least because of its splendidly differentiated orchestration and the psychologically sensitive presentation of its protagonists.

Handel’s Theodora, a tale of Christian martyrdom in 4th century Antioch, is a dramatic oratorio rather than an opera, but it achieved a new currency in 1996, when William Christie conducted a staging at Glyndebourne Festival Opera; this led to an audio recording, released by Erato in 2003 and described by Gramophone as “a magnificent and deeply satisfying performance”. Christie, who lives in France, was the natural choice to conduct Theodora’s first Parisian staging – at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Autumn 2015. Le Monde spoke of William Christie’s conducting in glowing terms; it achieved “great mystic depth” through “phrasing that was both firm and subtle, pure but warm in tone, empathetically following each inflection of anger, pain or ecstasy. The sonic fabric was rich and dense, the attack precise.”

William Christie’s account on Erato is probably now a first recommendation… he has marshalled expert singers; Alan Ewing’s Polyphemus is particularly good, well characterized and spirited. Indeed, the whole performance is full of life and personality, and Christie holds everything together with finesse and grace.

Erin Helyard has been acclaimed as an inspiring conductor, a virtuosic and expressive performer of the harpsichord and fortepiano, and as a lucid scholar who is passionate about promoting discourse between musicology and performance. Erin graduated in harpsichord performance from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with first-class honours and the University Medal. He completed his Masters in fortepiano performance and a PhD in musicology with Tom Beghin at the Schulich School of Music, McGill University, Montreal. He was named the Westfield Concert Scholar (Cornell University) on fortepiano for 2009–10 and from 2003 to 2012 was a central member of Montreal’s award-winning Ensemble Caprice.

Handel’s oratorio Theodora, in its first-ever staging at the Salzburg Festival ,was among the highlights of the Handel year in 2009. Great cast that features Christine Schäfer and Bejun Mehta, conducted by Ivor Bolton. Acclaimed stage director Christof Loy presented Theodora as the profoundly moving tale of a woman who prefers death to denying her own faith.