Program Notes George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) Radamisto (1728 version) For over two decades, Handel got on fine writing ‘opera seria’ for the King’s Theater—staged stories in which the Italian narrative was moved along by snippets of speech-song known as ‘recitative’, itself alternating with anguished soliloquies in which characters would reflect on their conflicted emotional states. The latter took the form of ‘da capo arias’—songs in three parts, with the opening music repeated after a contrasting middle section. In a mode of storytelling almost entirely dependent on singing, Handel had the edge. Not only did his music plumb far greater emotional and psychological depths than that of his competitors, he was also able to tailor it to the specific strengths of the star Italian singers who pulled in the crowds. But those singers, and the impresarios who controlled the industry, were subject to fierce commercial rivalries and were often lured to rival companies for big bucks. A composer who could stay ahead of that particular game or even adapt to it—like Handel could—was worth his weight in gold. Composers, however, were not immune from the variables of a London theater district powered by these rivalries. In 1719, a new company was established under the name the Royal Academy of Music. It wanted Handel as its chief composer and head of its orchestra, and soon secured him in both roles. The Royal Academy wasn’t averse to stoking rivalries even among its own house composers, who included Attilio Ariosto and Giovanni Bononcini. Handel surely knew that and accepted it as part of the rough and tumble of the West End. He knew how the game worked, and would prove as much in the first piece he wrote for the Royal Academy—Radamisto. Handel was on familiar territory for this new opera— literally, as the Royal Academy had taken up residence in the King’s Theater where the composer had worked on and off for the previous decade. On 27 April 1720, Radamisto was first performed, in the presence of King George I and his son the Prince of Wales (the future George II). For this particular adventure, they and the rest of the audience were taken to Armenia, around half way 26
PHILHARMONIA BAROQUE ORCHESTRA & CHORALE
