NEWSLETTER of The American Handel Society Volume XVIII, Number 2 August 2003 HANDEL FESTIVAL IN HALLE 2003 The theme for this year’s Handel Festival in Halle and its accompanying scholarly conference was “Les goût réünis, The Europeanization of National styles in Handel’s time.” There was, not surprisingly, a good deal of French music performed and the winner of the 2003 Handel Prize was Marc Minkowski, director of Les Musiciens du Louvre, who has become a great favorite in Halle. Because the first weekend of the festival fell on Pentecost, the schedule of events was slightly different from the norm, but as always there were more concerts than any one person could attend, generally two or three taking place simultaneously in different venues. There were also church services, exhibitions, receptions, and expeditions to places of interest at some remove from Halle. The official Opening Ceremonies and Festival Concert took place on Thursday, June 5 in the Georg-Friedrich- Händel-Halle. The music included the Dettingen Anthem and two of the Coronation anthems performed by the Choeur des Musiciens du Louvre and the Händelfespielorchester under the direction of Uwe Grodd. There were also solos from the Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne and Samson featuring trumpeter Reinhold Friedrich that should also have included the chorus but for some reason did not. The Festival Concert has yet to settle on a satisfactory format, reminding one yet again how difficult is to extract movements from the contexts for which Handel designed them. This year’s new production by the Halle Opera was of Imeneo, presenting the text of Donald Burrows’ new edition of Frontispiece from William Coxe, Anecdotes fo George Frederick Handel and John Christopher Smith (London, 1799). Courtesy of the Rita Benton Music Library, University of Iowa School of Music. the work for the Hallische Händel Ausgabe. The staging by Michael McCaffery was laudably straightforward and without gimmicks. Singers, dressed in eighteenth-century attire, were A TACITIST AGRIPPINA: The American Handel Society allowed to address each other and the audience without being School of Music upstaged or being required to engage in unlikely activities CHICAGO OPERA THEATER, University of Maryland themselves. The action took place in a single room, the back APRIL-MAY 2003. College Park, Maryland 20742 wall of which occasionally parted to reveal interesting vistas. The slender tale of the heroine Rosmene having to chose I have not yet done a statistically significant survey, but it between Tirinto, with whom she is in love, and Imeneo, who appears that the management of the Chicago Opera Theater has rescued her from pirates and to whom she feels gratitude, knows that if you hire designers, directors and musicians who was taken seriously, as was the secondary plot involving her coordinate their efforts and pay attention to the basic sister Clomiri’s love for Imeneo. Although the libretto fails to demands of the text and score they are performing, the result specify what should happen to the two unhappy lovers after can be excellent drama. At any rate, that was true of the COT’s Rosmene chooses Imeneo, the collapse onstage of Tirinto and production of Semele in 2002, and it was even more evidently the attempted suicide of Clomiri during the final chorus of the case in this year’s Agrippina, which provided one of the rejoicing (in the minor mode) was perfectly consistent with most exciting evenings of theater I have experienced in some the course of the drama and also very moving. time. I will note lapses from perfection below, because that is Strongest among the singers were the mezzo-soprano a reviewer’s job, but those criticisms should not distract from Ulrike Schneider as Tirinto (a role original written for a the message that this Agrippina was, everything taken together, ISSN 0888-8701 the most successful production of a Handel opera I have seen. xviii/2 castrato) and soprano Martina Rüping, a local favorite, as Clormiri, but soprano Alexandra Coku as Rosmene and basses (Note: I missed the Chicago Lyric’s Alcina in 1999, which continued on p. 3 continued on p. 4 8 1 17 October 2003, 7:30 pm HANDEL CALENDAR Chapel, St. John’s Lutheran Church, 200 W. Innes St., Salisbury, The American Handel Society welcomes news or information North Carolina NEWSLETTER about events of interest to Handelians. If possible, please include Admission by donation: $12, $10 seniors, $5 students. of an address, telephone number and URL where readers may obtain http://www.carolinabaroque.org details. For information on Handel concerts around the world, AHS OFFICERS 2003-05 The American Handel Society please also visit http://gfhandel.org/ Messiah - 150th annual performance - The Board of Directors for The American Handel Kenneth Nott, Editor Alcina Lisa Saffer, soprano The Hartt School - Sung in Italian with English surtitles - Matthew White, countertenor Society is pleased to announce the following slate of New York City Opera Benjamin Butterfield, tenor officers for the 2003-05 term: University of Hartford Alcina: Christine Goerke Handel and Haydn Society 200 Bloomfield Avenue Morgana: Lauren Skuce Grant Llewellyn, conductor West Hartford, CT 06117-1599 30 November 2003, 3 pm Graydon Beeks, President, Pomona College Ruggiero: Katharine Goeldner Tel: (860) 768-4895 Bradamante: Jennifer Dudley 5 December 2003, 7:30 pm Oronte: Keith Jameson 6 December 2003, 3 pm Robert Ketterer, Vice President, University of Iowa Fax: (860) 768-4441 Melisso: Joshua Winograde 7 December 2003, 3 pm E-mail: [email protected] Conductor: Daniel Beckwith Symphony Hall, Boston, Massachusetts http://www.handelandhaydn.org Marjorie Pomeroy, Secretary/Treasurer Producer: Francesca Zambello The Editor welcomes comments, contributions, 9, 13m, 18, 21m, 24, 26 September 2003 New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, New York City, New York Messiah and suggestions for future issues. http://www.nycopera.com/ Christine Brandes, soprano Susan Platts, mezzo-soprano Jephtha Michael Slattery, tenor Iphis: Christine Brandes, soprano Neal Davies, bass-baritone Angel: Greta Feeney / Saundra DeAthos, sopranos La Chapelle de Québec Storgè: Wilke te Brummelstroete, mezzo-soprano Les violons du Roy Hamor: Daniel Taylor, countertenor Conductor : Bernard Labadie Jephtha: John Mark Ainsley, tenor 5 December 2003, 7:30 p.m. The American Handel Society Zebul: John Ames, bass Claude-Champagne Hall, Université de Montréal, Canada Philharmonia Chorale Subscriptions : (514) 987-6919 Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra 6 December 2003, 7 p.m. School of Music, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 Nicholas McGegan, conductor Dominion-Chalmers United Church, Ottawa, Canada Telephone (301) 581-9602 email: [email protected] 13, 14 September 2003, 7:30 pm - Berkeley, California 18 December 2003, 8 p.m. 19 September 2003, 7:30 pm - San Francisco, California Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada www.americanhandelsociety.org 20 September 2003 - Palo Alto, California Ticket Office : (416) 872-4255. http://www.philharmonia.org 20 December 2003, 7:30 p.m. 21 December 2003, 2 p.m. OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS Église Saint-Dominique, Québec, Canada Richard G. King, President, University of Maryland Robert Ketterer, Vice President, University of Iowa 'Murder Most Foul' David Hurley, President, Pittsburg State University, Kansas Ellen Rosand, Vice President, Yale University Subscriptions : (418) 643-8131 Kenneth Nott, Newsletter Editor, Hartt School of Music Handel: Agrippina condotta a morire Brad Leissa, Secretary/Treasurer, Bethesda, MD Richard G. King, Newsletter Editor, University of Maryland Clérambault: Médée http://www.violonsduroy.com Christine Goerke, soprano Graydon Beeks, Pomona College Lowell Lindgren, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyAlfred Tempesta di Mare Messiah Roger Freitas, Eastman School of Music NicholasMann, McGegan, Honorary Honorary Director, Director, Eastman Berkeley, School ofCA Music 3 October 2003, 8 pm: Suburban Philadelphia Location TBA, Soloists: TBA William D. Gudger, The College of Charleston John NicholasH. Roberts, McGegan, University Honorary of California, Director, Berkeley Berkeley, CA Pennsylvania The Sarasota Choral Society Ellen T. Harris, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Marty JohnRonish, H. Roberts,Albuquerque, University New Mexicoof California, Berkeley 4 October 2003, 8 pm: Saint Mark's Church, 1625 Locust Street, 7 December 2003 Wendy Heller, Princeton University Olga Termini,Marty Ronish, California Albuquerque, State University, New Mexico Los Angeles Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Dress Rehearsal at 4:00 pm and Performance at 7:00 pm and David Hurley, Pittsburg State University, Kansas *Paul EllenTraver, Rosand, Honorary Yale Director, University University of Maryland http://www.tempestadimare.org includes full orchestra and pipe organ.) *Paul Traver, Honorary Director, University of Maryland Samuel R. Neel Auditorium, Manatee Community College *Founding Member TELEMANN & HIS FRIENDS, BACH & HANDEL Bradenton, Florida. Teresa Radomski, soprano This will be the 59th consecutive annual performance by the Dale Higbee, recorders Choral Society. APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE AMERICAN HANDEL SOCIETY Tickets are $12 for the dress rehearsal and $15 for the Gretchen Tracy, baroque cello Name____________________________________________________________________________ Date ________________________ Susan Bates, harpsichord & organ performance. (Carolina Baroque) http://www.sarasotachoralsociety.org/ Address