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1 15TH YEAR FINAL MONDAY 4 APRIL 2016 7pm St George's, Hanover Square St George Street London W1S 1FX FINALISTS GALINA AVERINA SOPRANO SHAKED BAR SOPRANO PAVLA FLÁMOVÁ SOPRANO MARIE LYS SOPRANO WILLIAM WALLACE TENOR ADJUDICATORS IAN PARTRIDGE CHAIRMAN (all rounds) EDWARD BLAKEMAN (Final) CATHERINE DENLEY (all rounds) MICHAEL GEORGE (all rounds) VALERIE MASTERSON (Final) HSC SUPPORTED BY Franz and Regina Etz The Farinelli Prize The Groner Trust The Michael Oliver Trust Mr Michael Normington The Selma D and Leon Fishbach Memorial Prizes London Handel Society Ltd Horton House, 8 Ditton Street Ilminster, Somerset, TA19 0BQ 01460 53500 [email protected] Handel Singing Competition inaugurated in 2002 Promoted by the London Handel Society Ltd Charity no. 269184

15TH YEAR FINAL - London Handel Festival Final 2016 prog... · 15TH YEAR FINAL MONDAY 4 APRIL 2016 7pm ... VIOLIN I Adrian Butterfield, ... My dearest beloved! I have no more anguish

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Page 1: 15TH YEAR FINAL - London Handel Festival Final 2016 prog... · 15TH YEAR FINAL MONDAY 4 APRIL 2016 7pm ... VIOLIN I Adrian Butterfield, ... My dearest beloved! I have no more anguish

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15TH YEAR

FINALMONDAY 4 APRIL 2016 7pm

St George's, Hanover Square

St George Street London W1S 1FX

FINALISTS GALINA AVERINA SOPRANO

SHAKED BAR SOPRANO

PAVLA FLÁMOVÁ SOPRANO

MARIE LYS SOPRANO

WILLIAM WALLACE TENOR

ADJUDICATORSIAN PARTRIDGE CHAIRMAN (all rounds)

EDWARD BLAKEMAN (Final) CATHERINE DENLEY (all rounds)MICHAEL GEORGE (all rounds)VALERIE MASTERSON (Final)

HSCSUPPORTED BY

Franz and Regina Etz The Farinelli Prize The Groner Trust

The Michael Oliver TrustMr Michael Normington

The Selma D and Leon Fishbach Memorial Prizes

London Handel Society Ltd

Horton House, 8 Ditton StreetIlminster, Somerset, TA19 0BQ

01460 53500 [email protected]

Handel Singing Competition inaugurated in 2002

Promoted by the London Handel Society LtdCharity no. 269184

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LONDON HANDEL SOCIETY IncorporatingLondon Handel FestivalLondon Handel OrchestraLondon Handel SingersLondon Handel Players

Promoted by the London Handel Society Ltd Charity no 269184 The Board of Directors of the London Handel Society would like to thank all those involved in the 39th London Handel Festival and is very grateful to those who have given donations to support the Festival.

PATRONSDame Emma KirkbyIan Partridge CBE

BOARD OF DIRECTORSMr Richard Hopkin ChairmanMr Michael Normington TreasurerMr Stephen CookeMr John Chown Ms Mary DeisslerMr Nigel FletcherMs Judith InghamMr Simon JenningsDr Alan KingMr Richard MoyseMr Leslie Porter

Founder Conductor Denys DarlowMusical Director Laurence CummingsAssociate Director/LeaderAdrian ButterfieldFestival Director Catherine HodgsonOrchestra ManagerAnne-Marie NormanHSC & Front of House ManagerAnn AllenBox Office ManagerLatasha Lamb Festival assistants Yvonne Eddy, Tristan Teller, Orsi Torjak Sophie Maisey, Susan Palmer

Thank you to all the PERFORMERS who are featured on the event pages in the Festival programmes.

Festival programmesCatherine HodgsonFestival programme notes Graydon Beeks, Donald Burrows Corrina Connor, Katie Hawks Miranda Jackson, Peter Jones Anthony Pither Advertising for programmeVicki Stoten at VGS ConnectProgramme printers Impress Print Ltd Instant Print West One, Creeds of Bridport

PROVIDERS & INSTRUMENTSThe chamber organ used in the Festival is the Handel House Museum Chamber organ built to Handel’s specification by Martin Goetze and Dominic Gwynn. Claire Hammett harpsichords: Flemish double by Mackinnon & Waitzman, Giusti Italian by David Evans, Ruckers single by Richard Kingston.Keith McGowan: Klop 3.5 stop organ, Fleischer single harpsichord by Goble.Edmund Pickering: Ruckers-Hemsch double harpsichord by Ian Tucker.Andrew Wooderson: Rose, Richerby & Wooderson 4 stop German organ.Mark Ransom: Grimaldi Italian single harpsichord by Ransom & Hammett.Malcolm Greenhalgh: Kirckman double harpsichord by Huw Saunders.

LONDON VENUESBRITTEN THEATRE, ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSICPrince Consort Road, London SW7 2BSCHANDOS HOUSE2 Queen Anne Street, London, W1G 9LQTHE FOUNDLING MUSEUM40 Brunswick Square London WC1N 1AZGROSVENOR CHAPEL24 South Audley Street, London W1K 2PAHANDEL HOUSE MUSEUM25 Brook Street, London W1K 4HB ST GEORGE’S, HANOVER SQUARESt George Street, London W1S 1FX ST JOHN’S SMITH SQUARE Smith Square, London, SW1P 3HA ST LAWRENCE, LITTLE STANMORE Whitchurch Lane, Edgware, Middx, HA8 6QSWIGMORE HALL36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP PUBLIC RELATIONSValerie Barber PR

FESTIVAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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MUSIC PREPARATION Clifford Bartlett, Peter Jones BOX OFFICE AND ADMINISTRATIONHorton House, 8 Ditton Street, Ilminster, Somerset, TA19 0BQTel: 01460 53500 Box Office: 01460 54660 Charity registration number 269184 CONTACT:Catherine HodgsonEmail: londonhandelfestival@gmail.comwww.london-handel-festival.comLatasha Lamb & Susan Palmer [email protected]@btconnect.com

HANDEL SINGING COMPETITION [email protected] Allen and Susan Palmer

DIARY OF EVENTS 2016 VENUES BT, RCM - Britten Theatre, Royal College of Music FM - The Foundling Museum GC - Grosvenor Chapel HH - Handel House Museum SGHS - St George’s, Hanover Square SL - St Lawrence, Little Stanmore SJSS - St John’s, Smith Square WH - Wigmore Hall.

MARCH TUESDAY 8 MARCH 1.10-1.50pm GC Tom Winpenny Organ Concert

TUESDAY 8 MARCH 5.45pm Walk - Arts and Music

TUESDAY 8 MARCH 7pm BT, RCM Performance 1 - Handel Ariodante

WEDNESDAY 9 MARCH 1-2pm SGHS RCM Baroque Lunchtime

WEDNESDAY 9 MARCH 4-5pm BT, RCM Talk by Katie Hawks on Ariodante

WEDNESDAY 9 MARCH 7pm BT, RCM Performance 2 - Handel Ariodante

FRIDAY 11 MARCH 12-1pm BT, RCM Ariodante Young Person’s Matinée

FRIDAY 11 MARCH 1-2pm SGHS Guildhall Cantata Ensemble

FRIDAY 11 MARCH 7pm SGHS Youthful Mastery

SATURDAY 12 MARCH 4-5pm BT, RCM Talk by Donald Burrows on Ariodante

SATURDAY 12 MARCH 7pm BT, RCM Performance 3 - Handel Ariodante

MONDAY 14 MARCH 1-2pm SGHS Maria Ostroukhova Lunchtime Recital

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MONDAY 14 MARCH 7pm BT, RCM Performance 4 - Handel Ariodante

TUESDAY 15 MARCH 1.10-1.50pm SGHS Robin Walker Organ Concert

THURSDAY 17 MARCH 1-2pm SGHS Ingrida Gápová Lunchtime Recital

THURSDAY 17 MARCH 7pm SGHS Handel Berenice

FRIDAY 18 MARCH 7pm SGHS Southbank Sinfonia Baroque

MONDAY 21 MARCH 6pm GC HSC Semi-Final

TUESDAY 22 MARCH 1.10-1.50pm GC Grosvenor Chapel Choir WEDNESDAY 23 MARCH 5.30pm Walk - The sick, poor and abandonned WEDNESDAY 23 MARCH 7pm FM Musica da Camera

THURSDAY 24 MARCH 12-1pm HH Bach meets Handel

FRIDAY 25 MARCH 2.30pm SGHS Bach St Matthew Passion TUESDAY 29 MARCH 1.10-1.50pm SGHS Nicholas Morris Organ Concert

WEDNESDAY 30 MARCH 1.10-2.10pm GC Josep-Ramon Olivé Lunchtime Recital

THURSDAY 31 MARCH 7pm SGHS Handel Elpidia

APRIL MONDAY 4 APRIL 5.30pm Walk - Handel’s Mayfair

MONDAY 4 APRIL 7pm SGHS HSC Final

TUESDAY 5 APRIL 1.10-1.50pm SGHS James Johnstone Organ Concert

TUESDAY 5 APRIL 7.30pm WH European Connections

WEDNESDAY 6 APRIL 1.10-2.10pm GC Alice Privett Lunchtime Recital

THURSDAY 7 APRIL 7pm SL Chandos 300

FRIDAY 8 APRIL 1.10-2.10pm GC Sarah Hayashi Lunchtime Recital

MONDAY 11 APRIL 5.45pm Walk - 1000 Years of destruction

MONDAY 11 APRIL 4-5pm SGHS Talk by Natassa Varka (note change) on Alexander Balus

MONDAY 11 APRIL 7pm SJSS Handel Alexander Balus

HSC ADJUDICATORS: Ian Partridge (Chairman & all three rounds) Edward Blakeman (Final only) Catherine Denley (all three rounds) Michael George (all three rounds) Valerie Masterson (Final only)

HARPSICHORD ACCOMPANISTS:Chad KellyNathaniel Mander Asako OgawaHeather Tomala

HSC ADMINISTRATORS Ann Allen & Susan Palmer

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MONDAY 4 APRIL 7PMFINAL 2016 AT ST GEORGE'S, HANOVER SQUARE GALINA AVERINA SOPRANO Aria: Mio caro bene (Rodelinda HWV19)Aria: Tu del ciel ministro eletto (Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno HWV46a)Aria: Da tempeste (Giulio Cesare in Egitto HWV17)

SHAKED BAR SOPRANO Recitative & Aria: S’e’ corrisposto un core … Amor e’ qual vento (Orlando HWV31)Aria: Il mio crudel martoro (Ariodante HWV33)Recitative & Aria: Ah, Lisaura tradita! … No, più soffrir non voglio (Alessandro HWV21)

WILLIAM WALLACE TENOR Recitative & Aria: 'Tis well, my friends ... Call Forth Thy Powers (Judas Maccabaeus HWV63)Recitative & Aria: Hide thou thy hated beams, O sun ... Waft her angels through the skies (Jephtha HWV70)Recitative & Aria: Fatto inferno ... Pastorello d’un povero armento (Rodelinda HWV19)

PAVLA FLÁMOVÁ SOPRANO Recitative & Aria: Me, when the sun begins to fling … Hide me from day’s garish (L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato HWV55)Aria: Credete al mio dolore (Alcina HWV34)Aria: Come nembo che fugge col vento (Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno HWV46a)

MARIE LYS SOPRANO Aria: Ah! mio cor (Alcina HWV34) Recitative & Aria: Ingrato Polinesso ... Neghittosi, or voi che fate? (Ariodante HWV33)

LAURENCE CUMMINGS CONDUCTOR London Handel OrchestraADRIAN BUTTERFIELD LEADER

VIOLIN IAdrian Butterfield, Laura VadjonWilliam Thorp, Diane MooreVIOLIN IIOliver Webber, Theresa CaudleEllen O'Dell, Stephen BullVIOLASRachel Byrt, Malgosia Ziemkiewicz CELLOS Katherine SharmanMelanie Woodcock

BASSCecelia Bruggemeyer OBOES James Eastaway, Catherine LathamBASSOONNathaniel HarrisonHARPSICHORDLaurence Cummings

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GALINA AVERINA SOPRANO

Mio caro bene(Rodelinda HWV19)

AriaMio caro bene! Non ho più affanni e pene al cor. Vedendoti contento, nel seno mio già sento, che sol vi alberga amor. Mio caro bene ... da capo

Tu del ciel ministro eletto(Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno HWV46a)

AccompagnatoPure del Cielo intelligenze eterne, che vera scuola a ben amare aprite, udite, angeli, udite il pianto mio, e se la Verità dal Sole eterno tragge luce immortale, e a me lo scopre, fate che al gran desio rispondam l'opre.

AriaTu del Ciel ministro eletto non vedrai più mio petto voglia infida, o vano ardor. E si vissi ingrata a Dio tu custode del cor mioa lui porta il nuovo cor. Tu del Ciel ... da capo

Da tempeste(Giulio Cesare in Egitto HWV17) Aria Da tempeste il legno infranto,se poi salvo giunge in porto,non sa più che desiar.Così il cor tra pene e pianto,or che trova il suo conforto,torna l'anima a bear. Da tempeste ... da capo

My dearest beloved!I have no more anguish and pain,I have no more pain in my heart.Seeing you happy,in my heart I already feelonly love making its home. My dearest beloved, etc.

Pure and eternal beings of Heaven,who reveal true lessons of pure love,harken, angels, hear my plaint,and as Truth draws immortal lightfrom the eternal Sun, and reveals it to me,let my deeds respond to my great desire.

You, the chosen minister of Heaven,shall see no more in my breastan unfaithful wish or vain desire.And though I lived ungrateful to God,may you, guardian of my soul,bring to him a renewed heart. You, the chosen minister, etc.

The boat that, battered by the tempest,safely reaches the harbour, Does not know what more to ask for. And so a heart that dwelt in painswhen at last it finds peace again, gives itself over to rejoicing.

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SHAKED BAR SOPRANO S’e’ corrisposto un core … Amor e’ qual vento (Orlando HWV31)

Recitativo S’è corrisposto un core Teme ancor del suo amore. Se un altro è mal gradito Prova il martir del barbaro Cocito. Nel mar d’amor per tutto v’è lo scoglio E vedo ben, che amare è un grand’imbroglio.

AriaAmor è qual vento che gira il cervello ho inteso che a cento comincia bel bello a farli godere. Ma a un corto piacere dà un lungo dolor

Se uniti due cori si credon beati gelosi timori li fan sfortunati Se un core è sprezzato divien arrabbiato,così fa l’Amor. Amore è qual vento ... da capo

Il mio crudel martoro(Ariodante HWV33) Aria Il mio crudel martoro crescer non può di più; morte, dove sei tu, che ancor non moro?

Vieni, de' mali miei, no, che il peggior non sei, ma sei ristoro. Il mio crudel ... da capo

If a lover is successful, fear still plagues her,but if the lover sees himself rejected he feels the horrors of infernal pangs. The sea of love is strewn with dangerous rocks, and I see that love is a tremendous anguish.

Love is like a gust of windthat spins the head,I’ve heard it starts well and is pleasing, But after a short while, there is a long sadness.

If two hearts are united, and believe them-selves blessed, jealousy and fear soon get the better of them; if a heart is betrayed, it becomes deranged. That’s what love can do. Love is like a gust of wind etc.

My cruel tormentcould not get worse;death, where are you,since I still do not die.

Come. Of my ills,no, you are not the worst, but you are my comfort. My cruel torment, etc.

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Ah, Lisaura tradita! … No, più soffrir non voglio(Alessandro HWV21)

RecitativoAhi Lisaura tradita! del pari che l'Amor,vano è il tuo sdegno. Risolvi non soffrir quest'atto indegno.

AriaNo, più soffrir non voglio. E' troppa infedeltà. Instabile qual onda, più mobile che fronda è l'incostante. Non lo vorria l'Orgoglio, se lo volesse amor. No 'l voglio più soffrir d'un altra amante. No, più soffrir ... da capo

Ah, betrayed Lisaura!just like your love, your fury is in vain;I resolve not to bear this unworthy act.

No, I will not bear it,it is too much faithlessness,unstable as the waves,more restless than the leavesis this inconstant one.My pride will not bear it,although Love would endure much;no, I cannot bearthat he should have another lover. No, I will not bear it, etc.

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WILLIAM WALLACE TENOR 'Tis well, my friends ... Call Forth Thy Powers (Judas Maccabaeus HWV63)

Recitativo 'Tis well, my friends; with transport I behold The spirit of our fathers, fam'd of old For their exploits in war. Oh, may their fire With active courage you, their sons inspire: As when the mighty Joshua fought, And those amazing wonders wrought, Stood still, obedient to his voice, the sun, Till kings he had destroy'd, and kingdoms won. AriaCall forth thy pow'rs, my soul, and dareThe conflict of unequal war.Great is the glory of the conqu'ring sword,That triumphs in sweet liberty restor'd. Hide thou thy hated beams, O sun ...Waft her, angels, through the skies(Jephtha HWV70)

Accompagnato Hide thou thy hated beams, O sun, in cloudsAnd darkness, deep as is a father's woe;A father, off'ring up his only childIn vow'd return for victory and peace.

Aria Waft her, angels, through the skies,Far above yon azure plain,Glorious there, like you, to rise,There, like you, for ever reign. Waft her ... da capo

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Fatto inferno ...Pastorello d'un povero armento(Rodelinda HWV19)

RecitativoFatto inferno è il mio petto; di più flagelli armate ho dentro il core tre furie: gelosia, sdegno ed amore.E da più gole io sento, quasi mastin crudele,il rimorso latrar per mio tormento, chiamandomi infedele,spergiuro, usurpator, empio e tiranno.Ma pur voi lusingate le stanche mie pupillead un breve riposo, aure tranquille!Sì, dormi Grimoaldo, e se ritrovi pace tra i fonti e l’erbe, delle regie superbe le mal sicure soglie in abbandono lascia; che prezioso è dell’alma riposo al par del trono. Aria Pastorello d’un povero armento Pur dorme contento, sotto l’ombra d’un faggio o d’alloro. Io, d’un regno monarca fastoso, non trovo riposo, sotto l’ombra di porpora e d’oro. Pastorello … da capo

My breast has become a hell;I’ve three furies armed with many whipsin my heart: jealousy, disdain and love.And from the depths I hear,like a cruel hound, remorse howling to torment me,calling me faithless,perjurer, usurper, villain and tyrant.But yet, consolemy tired eyeswith a brief repose, O gentle breezes!Yes, sleep, Grimoaldo, and if you find againpeace among the streams and meadows,leave the unsteady throneof proud kingdoms,for a peaceful heart is as precious as the throne.

The shepherd of a poor flockmay sleep contentbeneath the shade of a beech or laurel.I, king of a magnificent realm,can find no peaceunder the shade of purple and gold. The shepherd … etc.

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PAVLA FLÁMOVÁ SOPRANO Me, when the sun begins to fling … Hide me from day’s garish(L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato HWV55) AccompagnatoMe, when the sun begins to flingHis flaring beams, me goddess bringTo arched walks of twilight groves,And shadows brown that Sylvan loves;There in close covert by some brook,Where no profaner eye may look.

AriaHide me from day's garish eye,While the bee with honied thigh,Which at her flow'ry worth doth sing,And the waters murmuring,With such consort as they keepEntice the dewy-feather'd sleep;And let some strange mysterious dreamWave at his wings in airy streamOf lively portraiture display'd,Softly on my eyelids laid.Then as I wake, sweet music breathe,Above, about, or underneath,Sent by some spirit to mortals good,Or th'unseen genius of the wood.

Credete al mio dolore(Alcina HWV34)

AriaCredete al mio dolore, luci tiranne, e care! Languo per voi d'amore, bramo da voi pietà!

Se pianger mi vedete, Se mio tesor vi chiamo, E dite, che non v’amo, E’ troppa crudeltà. Credete al mio dolore … da capo

Believe me when I say I suffer,dear, compelling eyes!I pine for love of you,I crave your pity.

If you see me weep, if I call you my treasure, and if you say that I do not love you, then cruelty is too great. Believe me, etc.

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Come nembo che fugge col vento(Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno HWV46a) Aria Come nembo che fugge col ventoda te fuggo sdegnato e severo.Se l'inganno è il mio solo alimentocome viver io posso nel vero? Come nembo ... da capo

As a cloud flies with the wind,I fly from you, indignant and angry.Since deceit is my only succour,how can I live with truth? As a cloud, etc.

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MARIE LYS SOPRANO Ah! mio cor! (Alcina HWV34)

Aria Ah! mio cor! schernito sei! Stelle! Dei! Nume d'amore! Traditore! T'amo tanto; puoi lasciarmi sola in pianto, oh Dei! Perchè? Ma, che fa gemendo Alcina?Son reina, è tempo ancora: resti o mora, peni sempre, o torni a me. Ah, mio cor ... da capo

Ingrato Polinesso ... Neghittosi, or voi che fate? (Ariodante (HWV33) Recitativo Ingrato Polinesso! E in che peccai,che con la morte ricompensi amore?Ah, sì, questo è l’error; troppo t’amai

AriaNeghittosi, or voi che fate?Fulminate, Cieli, ormai sul capo all’empio!Fate scempio dell’ingrato,del crudel che m’ha tradita,impunita l’empietà riderànel veder poi fulminatoqualche scoglio o qualche tempio. Neghittosi ... da capo

Ah! my heart! you are scorned!You stars! ye gods!Deity of love!Betrayer!I love you so;how can you leave me alone, in tears?O gods! Why?But what is Alcina doing complaining?I am queen, and there is yet time.He shall stay or die,suffer eternally, or return to me! Ah, my heart, etc.

Ungrateful Polinesso! And how have I offendedthat you reward my love with death?Ah, yes, this was my mistake: I loved you too much.

Indifferent ones, what are you doing?Send thunderbolts, heaven, on the head of the evil one!Make an example of the ingrate,of the cruel one who has betrayed me,unpunished, the pitiless onewill laughif he sees lightning destroysome rock or some temple. Indifferent ones, etc. Translations by Corrina Connor and Peter Jones

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ALLEGORY

‘Come nembo che fugge col vento’ Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno

‘Tu del ciel ministro eletto’ Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno

‘Me, when the sun begins to fling … Hide me from day’s garish eye’ L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato During his sojourn in Rome in the first decade of the eighteenth century, Handel had been immersed in the music of the oratorio’s spiritual home, where these narrative dramas on sacred, allegorical, mythological, or historical themes had been developing since the early seven-teenth century. Handel’s first oratorio, Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (1707) was composed for Rome, where opera was banned by papal decree, and oratorios and cantatas were substitutes: the devotional, or at least moral, slant to the oratorio libretto could benefit the sensibilities of the audience whilst fulfilling certain intellectual ideals. Without trappings of opera – costumes, scenery, stage machinery and special effects – it was arguably necessary that the music be even more dramatic and affective in order to hold the attention of the audience. Handel’s patron, the connoisseur Cardinal Pamphili, was the librettist for Il trionfo, and he drew on a long Italian literary tradition of morally imperative allegorical -dramatic writing: Pamphili gives us four allegorical personifications, Bellezza (‘Beauty’, a young woman), Piacere (‘Pleasure’, a young man), Disinganno (‘Enlighted Insight), and Tempo (Old Father Time). Bellezza’s longing for a life of worldly pleasure is encouraged by Piacere, but Bellezza is eventually won over by Disinganno and Tempo. ‘Come nembo che fugge col vento’ comes from the end of the oratorio, the response of a petulant Piacere to the repentant Bellezza’s dismissal. Bellezza then sings the transcendent aria ‘Tu del ciel ministro eletto’. Bellezza’s conversion is a triumph for Pamphili, the Jesuit ‘fisher of souls’,

and Handel succeeded magnificently in his musical evocation of sublime redemption. James Harris (1709-1780) was a writer and aesthetician, and according to Fanny Burney a man ‘whose soul seems all music.’ He made an initial arrangement of poems from Milton’s L’Allegro and Il Penseroso at the request of Handel’s librettist Charles Jennens, in order to create a libretto for an allegorical pastoral ode by Handel. Milton’s visions of pastoral poetic melan- choly in Il Penseroso were popular throughout the eighteenth century, providing inspiration for many poets, including William Blake who made a series of engravings to illustrate the verses. With some amendments by Charles Jennens, Handel set the sequence of poems for a first performance on 27 February 1740 at Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Handel’s setting of the poems, some following ‘particular musical treatments’ suggested by Harris in his original draft, takes Milton’s verse to a still-higher aesthetic plane. There are four allegorical characters in the ode: L’Allegro (tenor), Il Penseroso (a soprano) and Il Moderato (a bass), as well as a chorus. In the recitative and air ‘Me, when the sun begins to fling … Hide me from day’s garish eye’, we hear Penseroso singing of sleep and rest, with a text containing many references to literary precedents. The ‘bee with honied thigh’ alludes to Michael Drayton’s The Owle (1604), while the ‘strange mysterious dream’ has a parallel with Ben Jonson’s The Vision of Delight and Night’s speech:

PROGRAMME NOTE

Break, Phat’sie, from thy cave of cloud And spread thy purple wings; Now all thy figures are allowed, And various shapes of things; Create of ariry forms a stream.

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RODELINDA

Rodelinda: ‘Mio caro bene’

Rodelinda: ‘Fatto inferno … Pastorello povero armento’ In Act III of Rodelinda, Grimoaldo is at low ebb; having seized the throne of Bertradio, King of Lombardy, Grimoaldo realises that the head that wears the stolen crown lies very uneasily indeed. His accompagnato and aria ‘Fatto inferno ... Pastorello d’un povero armento’ find Grimaldo unable to rest: his heart is filled with jealousy, love, and anger, and his conscience troubles him. As ever for Handel, the orchestral role is crucial to characterisation as it illustrates each character’s psychology, beyond their mere words. For his setting of this scena for Grimoaldo, Handel brilliantly contrasts the rough viciousness of the string writing at the start of the accompagnato section (‘Fatto inferno’), with the smoothness of the ‘sleep’ music, as Grimoaldo longs for repose, but musically it is apparent that his conscience keeps pricking him. Similarly, Handel juxtaposes the lilting Siciliana metre of the aria (appropriate for the ‘pastoral’ subject of the shepherd) with motivic material that continues to emphasise unease and spiritual torment. Rodelinda’s final aria ‘Mio caro bene’ is full of rejoicing: having been under the impression that her Bertradio is dead, while she herself must suffer Grimoaldo’s dastardly advances, Rodelinda is overjoyed to find that Bertradio lives. Grimoaldo, tortured by guilt and unease, and then astounded when the virtuous Bertradio spares his life, decides to give the throne of Lombardy back to its rightful holders. Rodelinda, a faithful and virtuous wife, who is also unafraid to challenge and threaten her enemies for the sake of her family, emerges triumphant. ARIODANTE Ariodante: ‘Il mio crudel martoro’ Ariodante: ‘Ingrato Polinesso... Neghittosi, or voi che fate?’ Ariodante opened Handel’s first opera season at the Covent Garden Theatre, on 8 January 1735, and the production ran for 11 performances. Its libretto is anonymous,

but based on Ginerva, principessa di Scozia, which was derived from Ariosto’s Orlando furioso. The aria ‘Il crudel martoro’ comes from the end of Act II: Ginerva is confused. Her father was about to adopt Ariodante (her betrothed) as his heir, but apparently Ariodante has just flung himself into the sea, tortured by rumours of Ginerva’s unchaste conduct. Ginerva – who has been the victim of plot-ting by her servant, Dalinda, and Polinesso (the Duke of Albany) – is driven mad by this news. She wants to die, to escape the horror of Ariodante’s death, and the slan-derous tale of her promiscuity. It transpires that Ariodante, although unhinged, is not dead: at the start of Act III, Dalinda meets Ariodante wandering in a forest, and indeed, he saves her life. They discover that they have both been victims of Polinesso’s duplicity, and in ‘Ingrato Polinesso ... Neghittosi, or voi che fate?’ Dalinda realises that her love for Polinesso blinded her to his evil: she calls for lightning bolts, represented by jagged string figurations, to strike the perfidious monster. ORATORIO

Jephtha

Accompagnato: ‘Hide thou thy hated beams, O sun’

Air: ‘Waft her, angels, through the skies’ Judas Maccabaeus

Air: ‘Call Forth Thy Powers’ Handel wrote the beautiful tenor part of his last English oratorio, Jeptha (1751) for the tenor John Beard, whose career was closely linked with Handel’s. Born in c. 1717, John Beard received his early training as a chorister in the Chapel Royal, and his first solo role in a Handel oratorio was as the Priest of the Israelites in Esther in 1732. On 23 March 1743 Beard was also the tenor soloist in the first London performance of Messiah. In 1739, Beard had married Lady Henrietta Herbert, the daughter of an illegitimate son of James II, James Waldegrave. The marriage was widely derided, with the Earl of Egmont commenting that because Beard was rumoured to have had ‘the pox’, Lady Harriet would be deprived of ‘the only

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thing she married him for, which was her lust.’ Throughout his marriage, Beard continued working as a successful singer – which was necessary as their finances were uncertain – and the many beautiful roles which Handel wrote for him demon-strate Beard’s capacity for sensitive, expressive, lyrical singing. ‘Hide thou thy hated beams’ and ‘Waft her, angels’ demonstrate some of these qualities in the tragic story of Jeptha, which librettist Thomas Morrell took from chapters 11-12 in the Book of Judges, with some material from George Buchannan’s Jepthas sive votum of 1554. The Israelite warrior, Jeptha, promised the Almighty that if he were victorious in battle against the children of Ammon, ‘Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house, when I return in peace … shall surely be the LORD’s.’ The first person Jeptha meets is his daughter, Iphis. Morrell’s libretto saves Jeptha from sacrificing Iphis, with the dubious vitiation of sentencing her to a life of perpetual virginity. At the start of Part 3 of the oratorio, Jeptha is tortured by the results of his rash promise: the moment has come when he must sacrifice Iphis. Jeptha’s desolation is palpable in ‘Hide thou, thy hated beams’, in which Handel’s musical colours are so dark that they seem prescient of the later eighteenth-century’s Sturm und Drang. Jeptha’s despair turns to hope as he sings ‘Waft her, angels’: here, rather like Orpheus wooing Charon, Jeptha uses vocal eloquence to strengthen his pleas. John Beard had sung the title role in Handel’s earlier Judas Maccabeus (1746); the librettist was also Thomas Morrell. This oratorio is unusual for its overt pertinence to current events: following the great rout of Jacobite forces at Culloden in 1745, the Dean of the Chapel Royal was required to procure a new anthem ‘upon the Account of the Duke of Cumberland’s Success against the Rebels’, which Maurice Greene produced. Handel’s oratorio was not a direct result of Cumberland’s victory, but the subject (Maccabeus rescues the people of Judea from the pagan rule of the Seleucid Empire, and forms an alliance with Rome that will continue to protect the Judeans) could easily be interpreted as a metaphor for Protestant Hanoverian triumph over Catholic pretenders. Morrell

recalled that the oratorio was ‘a compli-ment to the Duke of Cumberland upon his returning victorious from Scotland.’ The air ‘Call forth thy powers’, in a sturdy D major, is one for Maccabeus himself, from Part I of the oratorio: Maccabeus invokes the spirit of Joshua, as he urges his followers to fight for their faith. ‘L’OPÉRA OU LA DÉFAITE DES FEMMES’ Alcina: ‘Credete al mio dolore’ Alcina: Ah! mio cor Giulio Cesare in Egitto: ‘Da tempeste’ Orlando: ‘S’e’ corrisposto un core … Amor e’ qual vento’ Alessandro: ‘Ah, Lisaura tradita! … No, più soffrir non voglio’ The ‘undoing of women’ – whether through their own misguided and irrational folly, political machination, or supernatural meddling – is a common theme in the history of opera: whether this can be attributed to historical narratives of patriarchal oppression is open to debate. Anxious heroines are omnipresent in Handel’s operas: regardless of their status and power, they all suffer for love, and in some cases are defeated by it. Alessandro (which had its premiere in March 1726), was the first opera of Handel’s in which the ‘rival queens’ Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni appeared together. Its Scythian princess Lisaura (Cuzzoni) is in the difficult position of vying for the attentions of Alexander the Great (Alessandro). Her recitative and aria ‘Ah, Lisaura tradita! … No, più soffrir non voglio’ occurs half-way through Act I, when the histrionic Lisaura learns that Alessandro favours the Persian princess Rossane, whom he captured on an earlier campaign. Enraged by the vainglorious lout Alessandro, Lisaura must eventually settle for the besotted Tassile. Another pragmatic, but nonetheless wounded character is Dorinda, the shepherdess in Orlando. She is caught in a love-triangle with an African prince (Medoro) and the Queen of Cathay (Angelica). By the end of the opera, despite much sadness and confusion, Dorinda is able to find similes for her

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uncertainty and sadness in natural phenomena: ‘Amore e qual vento’ compares the love-struck state with having one’s head spun by gusts of wind (giddy pleasure soon becomes pain) and Dorinda harbours no illusions that a heart that is betrayed is likely to become deranged. Lisaura and Dorinda both survive their turmoil, disappointed and wiser, but in Alcina and Giulio Cesare the fates of Alcina, Morgana, and Cleopatra are still more interesting. As a sorceress, who transforms her former lovers into animals, rocks and trees, it is clear that Alcina is not a ‘good’ woman: she is known to spend her time ‘in wanton Idleness’ with Ruggerio (whom she has bewitched), and she lacks womanly decency. Alcina is also a powerful character, with her own kingdom, in the form of an enchanted island. However, Alcina’s situation is complex: she has used magic to make Ruggerio love her, but it becomes clear that her passion for him is genuine, although she herself is tainted. Eventually, overcome by the forces of morality (in the form of Ruggerio’s virtuous lover, Bradamante), Alcina and her sister Morgana crumble into dust. Handel compensates for this by giving Alcina magnificent, humanising music: before Alcina’s Act II aria ‘Ah, mio cor’, Bradamante broke the spell that held Ruggerio captive to Alcina, and Alcina comprehends this threat to her power, and the inevitable loss of Ruggerio. Handel’s accompaniment vividly illustrates Alcina’s despair, and the anguished thudding of her heart. Although she vows vengeance in the second part of the aria, Handel renders these words hollow with a da capo structure, showing that this is an aria about true suffering. Beginning in G minor, Handel makes use of recurring minor and diminished harmonies in the upper strings’ chords: the lack of harmonic respite is another indication of Alcina’s oppressive sorrow. Morgana’s Act III aria ‘Credete al mio dolore’ also has great musical eloquence, and would have been performed at the premiere on 16 April, 1735 by Cecilia Young (the wife of Thomas Arne). The differences in Handel’s writing for ‘Mrs Young’, and Anna Maria Strada del Pò,

who sang the role of Alcina, demonstrate how well Handel understood the distinc-tive qualities of his singers’ voices. In ‘Credete’, which is the first aria of Act III, Morgana has just been abandoned by her great love, Oronte, who declared that his vow of constancy was blown away on the winds; Morgana wonders if this is punish-ment for her own inconstancy, after she became infatuated with ‘Ricciardo’ (Bradamante in disguise). The instru- mental obligato, suitable for cello or viola da gamba, adds tremendous pathos to the aria, showing that Morgana’s words are not superficial: the cello or gamba is Handel’s vivid musical illustration of Morgana’s inner torment. Like Alcina, she is a sorceress, but we hear and see that she can feel human pain, and is now destined for destruction. Cleopatra, in Giulio Cesare, is also ill-fated, but her death does not occur within Handel’s opera, which ends with Cleopatra gloriously in love with Caesar, and declar-ing herself ‘tributary queen to the Emperor of Rome’. However, just as we can see doom in the eyes of Charles I in van Dyck’s portrait, our knowledge of Cleopatra’s eventual fate pervades her progress through Handel’s opera. Handel’s Cleo- patra is a manipulative seductress, but there is no doubting her sincere love for Caesar. In Act III, ‘Da tempeste’ is Cleo- patra’s ecstatic response to her release from her brother Ptolomy’s imprisonment. In spiky E major, the skips and leaps of this aria are a perfect example of how Handel’s music for Cleopatra expresses her person-ality through dynamic, imperious virtuosi-ty. The coloratura, over which Cleopatra has effortless control, is another expres-sion of her power, but also one of Handel’s power: when Giulio Cesare had its pre-miere on 20 February, 1724, Handel was in the ascendant, with the opera garnering enthusiastic praise, as a Monsieur de Fabrice wrote to a friend on 10 March:

‘…the opera is in full swing also, since Hendell’s new one, called Jules César – in which Cenesino and Cozzuna shine beyond all criticism – has been put on. The house was just as full at the seventh performance as at the first’.

© Corrina Connor, 2016

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ANN ALLEN HSC ADMINISTRATOR Ann Allen was bitten by the early music bug at an early age and has never quite recovered. She studied music at Manch- ester University before going on to specialise in Early Music Performance Practice at the Royal Academy of Music and Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Switzerland) playing historical wood-winds. She now freelances as a musician throughout the whole of Europe, as well as setting up and running the Early Music Crossover Festival NOX ILLUMINATA. GALINA AVERINA SOPRANO

Russian soprano Galina Averina made her first professional appearance as a soloist in Perm Opera Theatre (2010-2013). In July 2013, Galina made her international debut as Despina in Così fan tutte in Dubrovnik Summer Festival.

Choosing to develop her professional skills in UK, she graduated with distinction from the Welsh International Academy of Voice in 2014, where she studied under renowned tenor Dennis O’Neill. Galina is in her second year of RCM International Opera School studying under Dinah Harris, supported by the Kiri Te Kanawa Found- ation UK and Independent Opera Voice Scholarship. She performed the role of Pamina in Magic Flute, Calisto in Handel’s opera Giove in Argo and Adele in Die Fledermaus at the RCM Britten Theatre.Galina is a Samling Artist; notable prizes include First Prize in Bampton Classical Opera Competition, Sixth Prize and Audience Prize at Francisco Viñas International Singing Contest (Barcelona 2015) and Junior Prize at Les Azuriales Competition in Nice. In 2016 Galina will sing Zerlina for Winslow Hall Opera and Atalanta for English Touring Opera.

SHAKED BAR SOPRANO

Shaked Bar holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Jerusalem Academy of Music where she studied with Marina Levit, Efrat Ben-Nun, and Zvi Zemel. In 2014 she studied with Sherman Lowe and with Joyce Fieldsend in Venice. She currently studies with Patricia McCaffrey in New York and with Anna Skibinsky in Israel.

She participated in masterclasses held by Kenneth Weiss, Jill Feldman, Andreas Scholl, Sonia Prina, Lella Cuberli and Fabio Luisi.

Among the roles she has performed are Poppea and Nerone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Serpetta in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera and Zerlina in Don Giovanni.

Shaked performed with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra IBA, with the Barrocade ensemble and the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra and is part of the Jerusalem Opera’s soloist ensemble.

She received the Faculty of Performing Arts Dean’s Prize for the 2012-2013 academic year, and the America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarship for the years 2013-2015.

EDWARD BLAKEMAN HSC ADJUDICATOR

Edward Blakeman is a commissioning and programme Editor at BBC Radio 3, where his responsibilities include the planning and administration of the BBC Proms. He previously co-ordinated the prize-winning Sounding the Century project for Radio 3 and produced a wide range of music features, documentaries, live relays and recordings of orchestral concerts and operas.

Before joining the BBC, he was a freelance flute player, writer and presenter. He studied at Lancaster and Birmingham Universities and in Paris on scholarships from the British Council and the CNRS. He held a research fellowship at the Royal Northern College of Music and was Head of the Wind Department at the London College of Music. He is a trustee of the Royal Philharmonic Society and the Britten-Pears Foundation, editor of various music editions, and author of two recent books: Taffanel - Genius of the Flute (OUP) and The Faber Pocket Guide to Handel.

HSC BIOGRAPHIES

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ADRIAN BUTTERFIELD LHF ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Adrian is a violinist, director and conductor who specialises in performing music from 1600-1900 on period instruments. He is Musical Director of the Tilford Bach Society and Associate Director of the London Handel Festival and regularly directs the London Handel Orchestra and Players as well as working as a guest soloist and director in Europe and North America with modern and period ensembles.

The London Handel Players perform regularly at Wigmore Hall and through-out Europe and North America and made their debut at Carnegie Hall in 2014. The Revolutionary Drawing Room specialises in classical and romantic music on period instruments and has also performed in North America and Europe. A new record-ing of quartets by Haydn, Mozart, Vanhal and Dittersdorf has been released by RDR to coincide with their 25th anniversary in 2015. Adrian’s world premiere complete recordings of Leclair’s Books 1 and 2 violin sonatas were released in 2009 and 2013 on Naxos Records.

He works annually with the Southbank Sinfonia, teaches at the Royal College of Music in London and on the Aestas Musica International Summer School of Baroque Music and Dance in Croatia.

He has conducted the major choral works of Bach as well as Handel’s Israel in Egypt at St George’s, Hanover Square and La Resurrezione at the Wigmore Hall, and directed ensembles such as the Croatian Baroque Ensemble in Zagreb and the London Mozart Players.

Plans for the 2015/16 season include an invitation to the Sweetwater Music Festival in Ontario, Canada, RDR appearances at St John’s, Smith Square and at the Bach-Fest 2015, conducting Bach’s B minor Mass in Tilford and London and directing the London Handel Orchestra at Wigmore Hall. CORRINA CONNOR PROGRAMME NOTES

Corrina Connor began her musical life as a violinist, but then started playing the cello at the age of 14, and a few years later, began studying the baroque cello with Katrin Eickhorst in Wellington, New Zealand. Corrina completed her BMus at

Victoria University of Wellington, before successfully reading for an MPhil in Performance and Musicology at the University of Oxford. There she researched ideas of eloquence in Pelham Humfrey's penitential anthems. In addition to instrumental teaching, writing, and performing with a variety of ensembles, including Dartington Baroque Orchestra, Belsize Baroque, Trinity Laban Baroque Orchestra, Solomon's Knot, and the Amadè Players, Corrina particularly enjoys working with Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel at the Edinburgh Fringe, and during their recent UK tours. Corrina is currently working on a PhD at VUW, focussing on ideas of masculinity in Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus and other Viennese operetta.

LAURENCE CUMMINGS LHF MUSICAL DIRECTOR Laurence Cummings is one of Britain’s most exciting and versatile exponents of historical performance both as conductor and harpsichord player. He has been Artistic Director of the London Handel Festival since 1999 and of the Internation-ale Händel-Festpiele Göttingen since 2012, as well as Music Director for Orquestra Barroca Casa da Musica, Porto.

He has conducted productions for English National Opera, Opera North, Glynde-bourne Festival Opera, Gothenburg Opera, Opernhaus Zurich, Opera de Lyon and Garsington Opera. He regularly conducts the English Concert and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and has worked with the Hallé, Bournemouth Symphony, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Handel and Haydn Society (Boston), St Paul Chamber Orchestra (Minnesota), Wiener Akademie and Musikcollegium Winterthur.

His numerous recordings include the first recording of Handel’s newly discovered Gloria with Emma Kirkby, and Handel Arias with Angelika Kirchschlager and the Basel Chamber Orchestra for Sony. DENYS DARLOW (1921-2015) FOUNDER OF THE LHF Denys was born in May 1921, and started his musical life as a chorister at St James’ Muswell Hill, where he also began studying the organ with HA Bate.

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During the war he served in the RAF in this country (choices were limited owing to his appalling eyesight!) which enabled him to maintain his organ practice.

It was as an organist and director of church choirs that he started his profess- ional career as a musician. Later founding the Alexandra choir and orchestra, which in 1952, became the Tilford Bach Choir and Orchestra, with the creation of the Tilford Bach Festival, which continues to this day.In the 1960’s he toured Europe with his choir and orchestra, was guest conductor for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, and others. It was at this time he broadcast over 150 Bach cantatas for the BBC, with frequent outside broadcasts by the BBC from the little church of All Saints Tilford.

Denys was fortunate to have received advice and encouragement from several inspirational musicians, such as organists - HA Bate, Arthur Pritchard, and Harold Darke; conductors - Stanford Robinson, Beecham, Sargent Rafael Kubelik, and composition with Edmund Rubbra. He was keen to support other musicians, through the commissioning of new works, and the encouragement of young singers starting their careers, often whilst still students at the Royal College of music, where he taught for many years.

In 1978 Denys founded the London Handel Festival. Based at the beautiful St Georges Church, Hanover Square, (where he was organist for many years), he was responsible for reviving many of Handel’s lesser known and rarely performed works.

Latterly he received encouragement and support for his own compositions from Edmund Rubbra, to whom he dedicated his Requiem in 1986, which was performed in Bath Abbey. In 1988 his Te Deum was given it’s first performance at a celebration of the 250th anniversary of Handel’s birth, during the LHF that year, attended by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, who was at that time Patron of the Royal Society of Musicians, the charity in part founded by Handel as the “Fund for Decay’d Musicians”

CATHERINE DENLEY HSC ADJUDICATOR Catherine Denley studied at Trinity College of Music, winning both the coveted prizes there for Lieder and French Song. After two years with the BBC Singers she embarked on an inter- national solo career which has spanned many years and taken her all over the world. She has worked as a soloist with all the major British orchestras and with renowned conductors such as Rostro- povich, Boulez, Rozhdestvensky, Rattle, Marriner, Nagano as well as most of the principal early music directors.

Her concert experience has been extensive, but a few notable highlights include the première of Europera by John Cage in London, Paris and Berlin; Handel’s Messiah with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony - and of course countless others; Britten’s Spring Symphony for Dutch and Polish Radio; Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Sir John Eliot Gardiner in Japan; Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony in Odessa, Kiev and Boston USA, and his Symphony of a Thousand in York Minster and for TV in Dublin; Bach’s St Matthew Passion in the Gewandhaus, Leipzig and Mozart’s Requiem in the Salzburg Mozartwoche and at the BBC Proms.

Catherine has well over sixty recordings to her credit - these cover a wide range of repertoire from Monteverdi right through to contemporary music - but she is particularly renowned for her Handel roles, many of which she has also sung on the opera stage. Her recordings of Bach and Vivaldi have also received great acclaim. Catherine often acts as an external assessor in the most prestigious conservatoires, and now travels worldwide as a diploma examiner for Trinity, bringing her almost back to where she started! PAVLA FLÁMOVÁ SOPRANO

Pavla Flámová now specialises in historical interpretation of early music. She is passionate about the works of JS Bach and Handel. Meanwhile, feeding another side of her musical soul, is the music with folklore roots, e.g. songs of Janáček and another Czech composers. In the future she would also like to continue exploring music of the 20th century.

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Pavla has sung, and still sings with Ostrava´s Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berg Orchestra, Ensemble Collegium Marianum, the Camerata Janáček orchestra and other modern and baroque orchestras. She is working with David Blunden and Andrea Marcon, Sara Mingardo and Alessandro de Marchi. She sings music from early baroque to music of 20th century. MICHAEL GEORGE HSC ADJUDICATOR Bass-baritone Michael George began his musical life as a chorister at King’s College Cambridge. Later he studied at the Royal College of Music where he was a major prize winner. His career has included performances with all the leading orchestras in Britain and in many international festivals. Conductors he has worked with include Marriner, Eliot Gardiner, Norrington, Mackerras, Christophers, Pinnock, Handley, Sander- ling, Zinman, Muti, Elder and Nagano. His recordings include most of Handel’s oratorios, Gerontius, Creation, Bach’s Passions, Cantatas, Missa Solemnis, Ninth Symphony, the complete songs, odes and church anthems of Purcell, contributions to six volumes of Graham Johnson’s Schubert Series, Gurney’s songs, Finzi’s Let Us Garlands Bring and Zelenka’s Lamentations.

He has worked at ENO, Scottish Opera and Buxton Opera and toured various baroque opera projects with Philip Pickett and Jonathan Miller in Europe, Mexico and China. In 2014 he was involved in productions of Purcell’s Faerie Queen in Mexico. CLAIRE HAMMETT Claire Hammett received a BFA from Tulane University in New Orleans, USA and a Post-Graduate Early Music Diploma from Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Having studied keyboard performance, she developed a career in providing, maintaining and tuning harpsichords, organs, fortepianos, and clavichords for both concerts and recordings. Until her recent retirement, she maintained the early keyboard instruments for the Royal College of Music. She has worked with many organisations and as the main tuner and instrument provider for the London Handel Players and The English Concert.

She has provided and maintained harpsi-chords and organs for the London Handel Festival since 2002. Claire is retiring from London and moving to Florida this summer. CATHERINE HODGSON FESTIVAL DIRECTOR

Following a period in the Arts CouncilArt Department, Catherine trained as abookbinder, specialising in repair andmodern design binding. Once her threechildren were at school she joined the staff of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, from where she moved to the administrative staff of the Royal College of Music. In 1999, Denys Darlow invited her to takeon the organisation of the London HandelFestival which he founded in 1978. Sheruns the administration from her office inIlminster, Somerset where she also set upConcerts in the West in 2006, an annualseries of concerts for young professionalmusicians and spanning three counties.She is handing over the administrative reins of the LHF in summer 2016 after 17 years of learning about Handel’s wonderful music and working with the most amazing musicians. RICHARD HOPKIN LHS CHAIRMAN Richard Hopkin succeeded Stephen Cooke as Chairman of the London Handel Society in 2014. Before becoming Chairman, Richard served as a trustee for the Society for several years, during which time he was also a trustee of the Handel House. Richard was born and brought up in South Wales from where he won a place at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge to read law. After university, he qualified as a solicitor in the City where he has worked for the last thirty years, most recently in financial regulation. He is a keen concert-goer, amateur pianist and singer. PETER JONES MUSIC PREPARATION Peter Jones was born in Pontlottyn, South Wales. After leaving university he studied singing privately with Ivor Evans. His singing repertoire concentrated on Handel, Bach, Haydn and Mozart. He was encouraged to develop his interest in score editing and engraving by the late Denys Darlow. He has prepared editions of Handel’s operas and other works for the

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London Handel Festival, the Göttingen Handel Festival, English Touring Opera, the Buxton Festival, The Sixteen, The Early Opera Company, Garsington Opera, Bampton Classical Opera and the London Mozart Players, among others. He collaborated with the late Anthony Hicks on several editions, notably Saul. He has just prepared Agrippina for Brisbane Baroque. Peter has provided translations for the annual opera collaboration between the London Handel Festival and the Royal College of Music for several years, and has prepared the translations for this year's Singing Competition. He has entered into an agreement with ChesterNovello to market his Handel editions. CHAD KELLY HARPSICHORD Chad enjoys a rich and diverse career as a performer and director, spanning almost all genres of music, from historically -informed performance and chamber music to Opera and Musical Theatre. He is currently the Lucille Graham fellow at the Royal Academy of Music, where he is an Assistant Conductor and Répétiteur for Royal Academy Opera. He is also Director of Music at the historic church of St. Anne’s, Kew Green. Chad is Lector in Music at Trinity College, Cambridge, supervising undergraduates on the Music Tripos. He is also co-founder and Artistic Director of the period-instrument ensemble Ars Eloquentiae.

Before leaving Chetham's School of Music, Chad became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music in Piano Performance. He then took up the organ scholarship at Girton College, Cambridge, where he read music. He graduated in 2011 with double first-class honours, achieving the highest mark in the history of the university in Practical Musicianship and Keyboard Skills. Chad continued postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music where, in 2013, he graduated with distinction and the coveted DipRAM.

MARIE LYS SOPRANO

Marie Lys (-Jaermann) is studying under Amanda Roocroft at the International Opera School of the Royal College of Music, where she graduated from her Masters with First Class Honours in 2014.

Her operatic appearances include the roles of Adele Die Fledermaus, Nanetta Falstaff, Königin der Nacht Die Zauberflöte, Galatea Acis and Galatea, Lauretta Gianni Schicchi and Clara La Vie Parisienne.

In 2015 she was a prize winner in the 'Concours de chant du Pour-cent culturel Migros' in Zurich, and won the First Prize in the 'Göttinger Reihe Historischer Musik Competition' with Abchordis Ensemble that she co-founded in 2011, and whose first recording ‘Stabat Mater’ was published by Sony Deutsche Harmonia Mundi in January 2016.

A Samling Artist and an Aldama Scholar supported by a Basil Coleman Opera Award, Marie is also proud to be a Scholar of the Drake Calleja Trust, and has been supported by the Leenaards, Dénéréaz, Colette Mosetti and Friedl Wald Foundations and by the Josephine Baker Trust. NATHANIEL MANDER HARPSICHORD Nathaniel Mander is much in demand as a recitalist, continuo player and chamber musician throughout Europe and the United States.

His most recent tours have been in the United States with performances in Washington and New York and in Italy with a series of concerts through Tuscany, Umbria and in Rome. As teacher, Nathaniel has given masterclasses at the Handel House Museum and regularly gives harpsichord classes at the Morley College. In 2015-16 Nathaniel will hold again the Linda Hill Junior Fellowship in Harpsichord at the Royal College of Music. VALERIE MASTERSON HSC ADJUDICATOR

Valerie Masterson is a retired opera singer who studied at the Royal College of Music where she was awarded the Queen’s Prize for the most outstanding student of the year and a Countess of Munster Award to study singing in Milan. She made her concert debut in the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts under Sir Malcolm Sargent whilst still a student. Her operatic debut came a year later at the Landestheater in Salzburg. Valerie went on to sing in all the major opera houses including English National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, The Royal Opera House Covent Garden along with

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the Metropolitan New York, La Scala Milan, in Munich, Paris, Prague, Geneva, Barcelona, Santiago, San Francisco and many more. She has made numerous recordings and regularly appeared in all the major concert halls as well as on television and the radio. Valerie has many awards to her credit including the Sir Laurence Olivier Award for the most outstanding solo operatic performance. She was awarded a CBE in 1987; in 1993 she was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music, a RAM in 1994 and a Doctor of Letters by South Bank University in 1999. She is Vice-President of British Youth Opera, The Rossini Society of Paris, The Mousehole Male Voice Choir and many others. Valerie Masterson continues to work with young singers and with the Musicians Benevolent Fund. ANNE-MARIE NORMAN ORCHESTRA MANAGER

Anne-Marie Norman studied music at Southampton University and began a career in music administration with four seasons on the staff of the Royal Opera House, and a further four years as administrator for The Sixteen. She went on to work in artist management, first with Magenta Music International and later with Hazard Chase. She has been freelance since 2005 and currently works with the London Handel Orchestra and award-winning professional chamber choirs The Cardinall’s Musick and Polyphony, as well as being administrator for the Rehearsal Orchestra, a musical charity which runs weekend courses and a week-long residential course during the Edinburgh Festival for conservatoire students and talented amateurs, and exter-nal engagements co-ordinator for the National Youth String Orchestra. ASAKO OGAWA HARPSICHORD Asako Ogawa is originally from Gifu City, Japan. Asako obtained her postgraduate diploma in Early Music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2006, and was then awarded a fellowship in the following year. She was awarded the Accompanist’s Prize in the London Handel Singing Competition 2007, and performed with the winners of the competition for

the Brighton Early Music festival, broad-cast on BBC Radio 3 Early Music Live. Since then, Asako has been working as official accompanists for the London Handel Singing Competition. She was also one of the finalists in the Broadwood Early Keyboard Ensemble Competition in 2008 and was selected to participate in the public masterclass with Ton Koopman, Colin Tilney, and Bob van Asperen. Her baroque ensemble LUX performed to much acclaim at the Georgian Concert Society’s prestigious Concert Series, Edinburgh in March 2015 followed by the concerts in Tokyo and Chiba, Japan. She studied harpsichord with Nicholas Parle, James Johnstone, and Laurence Cummings. Currently Asako is a baroque repertoire coach at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

IAN PARTRIDGE CHAIRMAN OF HSC Ian Partridge has an international reputation as a concert singer and recitalist. His wide repertoire encomp- assed the music of Monteverdi, Bach and Handel, Elizabethan lute songs, German, French and English songs and first performances of new works. Ian’s phenomenal list of recordings includes Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin (first choice in BBC Radio 3’s Building a Library), Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Liederkreis Opus 39, and Britten’s Serenade, Vaughan Williams’s On Wenlock Edge and Warlock’s The Curlew. He sang the Evangelist in Bach’s St John Passion and was the tenor soloist in Simon Preston’s performance of Israel in Egypt and also sang in the complete set of Handel’s Chandos Anthems recorded with The Sixteen, conducted by Harry Christophers. Ian has also enjoyed taking masterclasses on Lieder, English Song and EarlyMusic. He retired from public performance in 2008 but remains a professor at the Royal Academy of Music. He was awarded the CBE in 1992 for services to music. HEATHER TOMALA HARPSICHORD Combining her interests in music, theatre and languages, Heather enjoys a varied career as an audition and rehearsal pianist, continuo player and musical director. Répétiteur work includes the Southbank

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Centre, Classical Opera Company, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Tenebrae, Trafalgar Sinfonia, London conservatoires, and numerous choirs and instrumental ensembles. She accompanied the inaugural Bel Canto Summer School in Dublin last year, and is currently supporting a new masterclass series for Yorkshire Young Sinfonia.

Heather has coached for Dartington International Summer School, London Mahler Orchestra and small London opera companies. She is a member of Junior Guildhall’s Musical Awareness staff (also directing their Baroque Ensemble for 5 years), Keyboard skills & Musicianship tutor at the National Opera Studio, Répétiteur and Musicianship leader for Ingenium Academy Summer School, and Theory & Aural tutor for St. Paul’s School. Off duty Heather is a Director of the Lucille Graham Trust, and a dedicated member of the Delaney Academy of Irish Dance. WILLIAM WALLACE TENORWilliam Wallace is a 2015-2016 Young Artist at the National Opera Studio funded by the Nelly Groner Trust. William graduated from the Royal College of Music Performance Masters (Distinction) where he studied and continues to study with Tim Evans Jones and Chris Glynn.

William’s operatic roles include Tybalt in Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet, Gastone in Verdi’s La Traviata. William played the roles of Zweiter Preister in Die Zauberflöte and The Mayor Albert Herring for the Royal College of Music International Opera School.

Alongside opera, William has extensive oratorio experience having performed Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Theodora, Judas Maccabeus and Acis and Galatea, Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio, Bach Cantatas, Magnificats and multiple St John Passions. Last summer William performed the role of the Schoolmaster in Janáček’s Cunning Little Vixen with British Youth Opera, winning the 2015 Patrick Fyffe Dame Hilda Bracket Award for the best performance in an opera at Sadler’s Wells. ___________________________________

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2002 1st ANDREW KENNEDY TENOR 2nd Natalie Clifton-Griffith SOPRANO Finalists Lucy Crowe SOPRANO Christopher Dixon BARITONE Christian Immler BARITONE

2003 1st ELIZABETH ATHERTON SOPRANO 2nd Miriam Allan SOPRANO Finalists Grace Davidson SOPRANO Caitlin Hulcup MEZZO-SOPRANO Alexandra Gibson MEZZO-SOPRANO

2004 1st ANGHARAD GRUFFYDD JONES SOPRANO 2nd Iestyn Davies COUNTER-TENOR Finalists Ildikó Allen SOPRANO Rabihah Davis SOPRANO Kevin Kyle TENOR Clare Wilkinson MEZZO-SOPRANO

2005 1st FFLUR WYN SOPRANO 2nd Tim Mead COUNTER-TENOR Finalists Katherine Manley SOPRANO Nicholas Mulroy TENOR Andrew Radley COUNTER-TENOR

2006 1st NATHAN VALE TENOR 2nd Helen Withers SOPRANO Finalists Jane Harrington SOPRANO Lisa Rijmer SOPRANO Maria Kontra MEZZO-SOPRANO

2007 1st DEREK WELTON BARITONE 2nd Christopher Ainslie COUNTER-TENOR

Finalists Anna Devin SOPRANO

Gillian Ramm SOPRANO

Julia Riley MEZZO-SOPRANO

Joana Seara SOPRANO

HSC 2002-2007

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2008 1st ERICA ELOFF SOPRANO 2nd Rhona McKail SOPRANO

Finalists Clara Mouriz MEZZO-SOPRANO Greg Tassell TENOR Lisandro Abadie BARITONE

2009 1st RUBY HUGHES SOPRANO 2nd Anna Huntley MEZZO-SOPRANO Finalists David Allsopp COUNTER-TENOR Gary Crichlow COUNTER-TENOR

Luanda Siqueira SOPRANO

2010 1st SOPHIE JUNKER SOPRANO 2nd Christopher Lowrey COUNTER-TENOR

Finalists Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli soprano Elinor Rolfe Johnson SOPRANO

Sarah Power SOPRANO Katie Bray MEZZO-SOPRANO

2011 1st STEFANIE TRUE SOPRANO 2nd Emilie Renard MEZZO-SOPRANO (Alford)

Finalists Carleen Ebbs SOPRANO

Keri Fuge SOPRANO

Rachel Kelly MEZZO-SOPRANO

2012 1st ANNA STARUSHKEVYCH MEZZO-SOPRANO 2nd Alexander Sprague TENOR

Finalists Lucy Hall SOPRANO Raphaela Papadakis SOPRANO

Niel Joubert TENOR

Anna Gorbachyova SOPRANO

2013 1st RUPERT CHARLESWORTH TENOR

2nd Stephen Chambers TENOR Finalists

Heimi Lee SOPRANO

Frederick Long BASS-BARITONE

Natalie Montakhab SOPRANO Hagar Sharvit MEZZO-SOPRANO

HSC 2008 TO 2013

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HSC 2014 TO 2015

2014 1st EWA GUBAŃSKA MEZZO-SOPRANO 2nd Maria Valdmaa SOPRANO

Finalists Susanna Fairbairn SOPRANO Edward Grint BARITONE Timothy Nelson BARITONE

2015 1st JOSEP-RAMON OLIVÉ BARITONE 2nd Maria Ostroukhova MEZZO-SOPRANO Finalists Sarah Hayashi SOPRANO Alice Privett SOPRANO

Ingrida Gápová SOPRANO

HSC 2016 FIRST ROUND1, 2, 3 FEBRUARYCraxton Studios 14 Kidderpore Avenue London, NW3 7SU

SEMI-FINALMONDAY 21 MARCHGrosvenor Chapel 24 South Audley Street London, W1K 2PA PRIZES First: REGINA ETZ PRIZE - £5000 and a performance in 2017 Second: MICHAEL OLIVER PRIZE - £2000 and a recital in 2017 FARINELLI PRIZE for counter-tenors if awarded £2000 Audience: MICHAEL NORMINGTON PRIZE £300 THE SELMA D AND LEON FISHBACH MEMORIAL PRIZES FOR FINALISTS £300 each

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