Mozart’s take on Handel’s Opera
Handel’s Acis and Galatea in a classical version by Mozart
In a delightful mise en espace by Pierre Audi, a touching love story unfolds, set to music by Handel, in a classical Viennese orchestral version by Mozart.
The moving arias were, and continue to be, an instant hit.
In a delightful mise en espace by Pierre Audi, a touching love story unfolds, set to music by Handel, in a classical Viennese orchestral version by Mozart.
The moving arias were, and continue to be, an instant hit.
Concert programme
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George Frideric Handel
Acis and Galatea (orchestration W.A. Mozart)
Performers
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Leonardo García Alarcón
conductor
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Mark Milhofer
tenor
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Keri Fuge
soprano
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Valerio Contaldo
tenor
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Guy Cutting
tenor
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Sreten Manojlović
bass
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Nederlands Kamerkoor
choir
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Pierre Audi
creative partner
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Urs Schönebaum
light and scenography
Dates and tickets
About this concert
George Frideric Handel, who lived and worked in England, called Acis and Galatea his ‘little opera’. The Baroque master knew better than anyone how to bring to life the story of the nymph Galatea, the shepherd Acis and the jealous giant Polyphemus. The moving arias were, and continue to be, an instant hit. Indeed, Acis and Galatea would go on to become Handel’s most popular work for the operatic stage – a high point in English pastoral opera.
Just over half a century later, the charming love tragedy still stood firm, with no one less than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart making an adaptation for Viennese audiences. With this very rarely heard orchestration of Acis and Galatea, the nonconformist early music conductor Leonardo García Alarcón is making his Concertgebouworkest debut. The visionary director Pierre Audi, the orchestra’s creative partner, has conceived an exciting mise en espace.
This programme is made possible with financial support from Ammodo.