This concert raises the curtain on some fascinating, seductive female characters: Medea, Cleopatra, Semele and the Queen of Sheba. They all inspired George Frideric Handel to write great music for his operas and oratorios, arias filled with virtuosity and emotion. No composer of his time was better at endowing the personalities of these women with musical glamour. To open our Baroque Weekend, the Academy of Ancient Music, under Laurence Cummings, with soprano Nardus Williams, will introduce us to some of Handel’s most powerful, headstrong heroines.
Academy of Ancient Music
Laurence Cummings conductor
Nardus Williams soprano (replacing Mary Bevan)
Handel’s Heroines
Arias by George Frideric Handel