Händel: Tolomeo, Rè di Egitto
Il Pomo d’Oro / Jakub Józef Orliński / Francesco Corti – Hamburg International Music Festival
Sublime operatic revival
Back in 2020, the outstanding Polish countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński thrilled the audience and critics alike as Tolomeo at the Händel-Festspiele Karlsruhe. The Süddeutsche Zeitung called his voice an »event« and compared his vocal ability to that of the castratos for which Handel originally composed his male parts – among them this title character.
»Tolomeo« marked the end of Handel’s first great period as an opera promoter in London. Shortly after the premiere in April 1728, the Royal Academy of Music, whose director he was, went bankrupt, and the drama about the world-weary Egyptian king Ptolemy IX, who is removed from the throne by his own mother, was forgotten despite its musical beauty.
Thank goodness it has now been rescued from that fate! Besides Orliński’s voice, which he trained following historic models, the early music ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro adds an authentic touch to this concert performance, which also features other stars of Baroque opera such as Giuseppina Bridelli, Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian and Andrea Mastroni. An unmissable feast of Handel!
Performers
Il Pomo d’Oro
Jakub Józef Orliński Tolomeo
Giuseppina Bridelli Elisa
Mélissa Petit Seleuce
Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian Alessandro
Andrea Mastroni Araspe
Francesco Corti harpsichord and director
Programme
Georg Friedrich Händel
Tolomeo, Rè di Egitto / Dramma per musica in drei Akten HWV 25
Konzertante Aufführung in italienischer Sprache
Subscription
Das Alte Werk
Festival
Hamburg International Music Festival
Spotlight
Opera in Concert