Notes by Gabrielle Oliveira Guyon
Opera has always had its heroes and its villains – the “goodies” and the “baddies”, the upright and the dishonourable, the steadfast and the false-hearted. This unusual programme is devoted to some of the admirable pieces George Frideric Handel wrote for his more negative characters. The Spanish countertenor Xavier Sabata, accompanied by the orchestra Il Pomo d’Oro conducted by Riccardo Minasi, sings arias from six operas by the German-born composer, who was naturalised English in 1727.