Early Music Vancouver (EMV) presents Handel and His Rivals – Opera Arias from 18th Century London at Christ Church Cathedral on Friday, September 16, 2016 at 7:30pm. GRAMMY Award-winning soprano, Amanda Forsythe, will join Music Director Alexander Weimann, and the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in giving wildly virtuosic voice to the tempestuous queens, heartbroken lovers, and mythic figures who populated London’s opera houses in the early 1700’s.
“It took a while for Italian opera to catch on in 18th century London, but with the help of the young, ambitious, and prodigiously talented Handel, it soon became an obsession with the British public,” says EMV Executive & Artistic Director Matthew White. “When Handel arrived on the scene, he was just back from formative years in Italy where he performed alongside, and composed for the greatest operatic and instrumental virtuosos of the age. His subsequent success and virtual monopoly of the market for Italian opera in England was, for many years, unquestioned.”
White continues, “This first concert in our 2016/17 season celebrates the quality of music being performed in 18th century London by Handel and some of his rivals with the help of one the most celebrated young voices in opera today.”
The program will feature virtuosic arias for soprano composed by G.F. Handel for the Royal Academy of Music, as well as arias written by less well known rival composers like Bononcini, Hasse, and Porpora. Praised by Opera news for her “wonderful agility and silvery top notes”, Amanda Forsythe’s return to Vancouver has been highly-anticipated by EMV audiences since her spectacular 2014 performance in Handel’s Il Trionfo del Tempo.
Handel and His Rivals will perform at Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria on Saturday, September 17 as part of The Pacific Northwest Baroque Masterworks series.
Early Music Vancouver Presents: Handel and His Rivals
Date: Friday, September 16, 2016 at 7:30pm
Pre-Concert Talk: A dialogue with Amanda Forsythe and Alexander Weimann hosted by EMV’s Executive & Artistic Director Matthew White 6:45pm at Christ Church Cathedral
Address: Christ Church Cathedral 690 Burrard St. Vancouver, BC
Ticket prices: From $17.50
Box Office: earlymusic.bc.ca or 604-822-2697