Royal Handel

Featuring

Eva Zaïcik
Le Consort
George Frideric Handel
Attilio Ariosti
Giovanni Battista Bononcini

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Recording & Production

Several arias on this album, specifically by Attilio Ariosti and Giovanni Bononcini, are world premiere recordings.

Composition History

The Royal Academy of Music, founded in London in 1719, aimed to make London the new capital of opera, exclusively performing Italian opera at the King's Theatre.

Album & Artwork

This album, "Royal Handel," aims to be a musical portrait of the first Royal Academy of Music, showcasing Handel's genius and including previously unrecorded arias by Ariosti and Bononcini.

Composition History

The Royal Academy of Music, despite its initial success and 34 operas performed over nine years, was forced to close in 1728 due to high fees, extravagant personalities, and rivalries among singers.

Composition History

Attilio Ariosti and Giovanni Battista Bononcini, both string players, were brought from Italy to London to contribute to the Royal Academy of Music, bringing a new instrumental virtuosity.

Instruments

The violin played by Théotime Langlois de Swarte is a Jacob Stainer from 1665, kindly loaned by the Jumpstart Junior Foundation.

Composer Biography

George Frideric Handel, the German-born musical director of the Royal Academy of Music, had spent four years in Italy, which influenced his personal idiom that blended Italian, German, French, and English styles.