Theodora

Handel's 'Theodora' is a beautiful dramatic oratorio, with some of his most exquisite music ever, such as the two big arias for Theodora and the duets between Theodora and Didymus.

There are two staged performances of 'Theodora' available on DVD, this one from 2009 and the 1996 Peter Sellars-directed production. Both of them are above excellent, though there is a preference for the more visually striking and more overwhelmingly powerful Sellars performance, plus you can't go wrong with the singing of Richard Croft, David Daniels and especially Lorraine Hunt Liebeson or the conducting of William Christie (one of the most consistently great early music conductors around).

Visuals are kept minimal, but nothing is ugly, nothing is perplexing and nothing is distracting. Instead, effective in its simplicity. Like Sellars, Christof Loy is a controversial director whose work has earned both admiration and scorn. This is an example of him keeping things simple and letting the story and drama of the music do all the talking, with very few irrelevant or distasteful touches (apart from the odd action detracting from the words' meaning and Valens' sexual interest in Theodora nearly taken to extremes). Don't think even Loy has been more restrained than here.

Musically, this 'Theodora' is outstanding, a musical feast. Not just the music and how it's performed transporting one to another place in beauty but it's powerful too. The orchestral playing has energy and emotional depth, as well as ravishing tone, while the chorus are both uplifting and heavenly and Ivor Bolton's conducting is remarkably sensitive and alert and every bit as refined and evocative as Christie's. The performance looks and sounds fantastic on DVD, with intricate video directing, very clear picture quality and sound that's crystalline and perfectly balanced.

Christine Schaefer, a versatile soprano whose repertoire has ranged from Handel oratorio to Berg's Lulu (one of the most difficult roles in the whole operatic repertoire), is even better than the still impressive Dawn Upshaw, with a beautifully produced voice, intelligent musicianship and commanding acting. Bejun Mehta matches her brilliantly in beauty of tone, authority, connection to the text (even more so in fact) and nigh-on perfect technically. He and Schaefer sound sublime together in "To Thee, Thou Glorious Son Of Worth".

Bernada Fink sings with such beauty and command of tone and with passion that you are emotionally devastated just hearing or watching her. You can really tell that she is feeling every word and we feel it too. Joseph Kaiser is a moving Septimus and Johannes Martin Kranzle is frightening and memorably lecherous as Valens. Veteran Ryland Davies shows up as messenger and his voice is in good condition still for a man in his 60s at time of performance.

All in all, a musical feast, directed with restraint and powerfully and movingly performed. Sellars' production is still first choice though. 9/10 Bethany Cox