Handel's Leading Ladies

George Frideric Handel
Concerto Grosso Op.3 No.2 in Bb
Torni omai la pace from Tolomeo
No, più soffrir non voglio from Alessandro

Giovanni Bononcini
Prelude from Il Lamento d’Olimpia

George Frideric Handel
False Imagine from Ottone

Giovanni Bononcini
Difese mi giurasti from Astianatte

John Butt director
Nardus Williams soprano
Paul Whittaker bsl interpreter

In 18th-century London, the operatic stage was as much a site of social spectacle as of musical innovation, shaped by star performers, fashionable audiences and the ambitions of a rapidly expanding cultural scene. At its centre stood Handel, whose works were brought vividly to life by leading international singers and musicians, two of whom were italian rivals, Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni.

Fuelled by public intrigue and partisan audiences, their famed rivalry became part of London’s cultural fabric, as did the striking contrast between their voices: Cuzzoni’s pure, expressive lyricism set against Bordoni’s brilliance and virtuosity.