This recording is dedicated to the loving memory of Jane Connolly, the mother of Sarah Connolly, the mezzo-soprano.
Compositional Technique
Handel's 'mad scene' for Dejanira in 'Hercules' is one of his most original late dramatic works, alternating snarling rage with eerie calm and featuring free shifts in tempo and key.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Handel's Italian opera seria, the dramatic genre he specialized in for over 30 years, created a powerful tension between idealized moral values and credible human situations.
Performer Biography
Sarah Connolly, the mezzo-soprano on this recording, sang with The Sixteen in the late 1980s and early 1990s before becoming one of the country's finest singers and a great Handelian.
Historical Context
In Handel's time, castrati (male eunuchs with powerful soprano or mezzo-soprano voices) were entirely acceptable to audiences for portraying orthodox masculinity on stage.
Compositional Technique
Handel often used a bassoon in his works to represent the idea of a spirit rising ominously from the shades, as heard in Ariodante's aria 'Scherza infida'.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Handel often found female characters in his operas and oratorios more interesting than their male counterparts, showing a special empathy for both the character and the female soloist.
