Handel's oratorio Theodora, HWV 68, composed in 1749, was not a great success, even at a time when Handel was a major celebrity in England. Various explanations for its failure have been advanced, including an earthquake that occurred shortly before the production and, in the booklet to this Naxos release, a novel theory concerning cognitive dissonance experienced by London audiences who, being Christians in a city that aspired to be the new Rome, couldn't decide whether to sympathize with the Christians or the Romans in ...
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Handel's oratorio Theodora, HWV 68, composed in 1749, was not a great success, even at a time when Handel was a major celebrity in England. Various explanations for its failure have been advanced, including an earthquake that occurred shortly before the production and, in the booklet to this Naxos release, a novel theory concerning cognitive dissonance experienced by London audiences who, being Christians in a city that aspired to be the new Rome, couldn't decide whether to sympathize with the Christians or the Romans in this tragic story of the martyr Theodora and her Roman lover. Handel himself esteemed the work highly, and it's easy to see why: with its dual choruses of Christians and heathens and its tight dramatic structure, it exploits the possibilities of the oratorio form to the hilt. This also demonstrates how composers aren't the best judges of their own works: although the choruses are pure Handelian masterpieces, the arias are no match for those in Messiah or Judas Maccabeus. The work has...
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