Opening concert: Handel with Accademia Bizantina
Friday March 8, 19:00
(Doors open at 18:00)
Oslo Cathedral
Adult: 600 NOK
Senior/student: 400 NOK
Child: 100 NOK
Duration: 2 hours
Accademia Bizantina
Madison Nonoa Horsefield, soprano
Shakèd Bar, mezzo-soprano
Delphine Galou, alto
Martin Vanberg, tenor
Ottavio Dantone, conductor
The critically acclaimed Italian early music ensemble Accademia Bizantina and conductor Ottavio Dantone have performed at the festival several times. This time, they are opening the festival with the oratorio Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno. The title can be translated to The Triumph of Time and Disillusion, and is considered to be one of G.F. Handel’s most beautiful and expressive works. It is the composer’s first oratorio and was written in 1707, when Handel was 22 years old. The oratorio had its premiere in Rome that same year, and the leader of the orchestra was Arcangelo Corelli himself. Presumably, the virtuoso violin solo in the closing aria was written to give Corelli space to shine. In a time span of 50 years, Handel wrote several versions of the work, among others Il trionfo del Tempo e della Verità, but the earlier version will be played here.
The oratorio is composed in two parts, with a libretto written by
Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili, which is about the temptations that Beauty (Belezza) is exposed to by Pleasure (Piacere), while Time (Tempo) and Disillusionment (Disiganno) offer sound advice. The struggle between opposites (for example pleasure versus truth) with no possible compromise, where moral choices were rewarded with eternal life, was a typical feature of the oratorios at the time. This work is specifically centred around the question of what real beauty is: something from this world, that is bound to fade (represented by Piacere) or morality and truth that will last forever? At the opening concert, Accademia Bizantina is joined by the outstanding soloists Delphine Galou (Disinganno), Madison Nonoa Horsefield (Bellezza), Shakèd Bar (Piacere), and Martin Vanberg (Tempo).
Accademia Bizantina was founded in 1983 as an early music ensemble under the direction of the musicians themselves, with the intention of ‘making music as a large quartet’. The ensemble has specialised in music and instruments from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Since Ottavio Dantone joined as a harpsichordist in 1989, and as the artistic director from 1996, Accademia Bizantina has specialised in Baroque music, and they are now one of the world’s leading chamber orchestras playing in the genre. Accademia Bizantina has collaborated with a number of Europe’s leading performers, such as the violinists Viktoria Mullova and Giuliano Carmignola, and has played in concert halls all over the world. They have made several award-winning recordings for Harmonia Mundi, Naïve, Deutsche Grammophon, and Decca Classics.
Ottavio Dantone graduated in organ and harpsichord, and quickly established himself as one of the leading figures of his generation. When he started his collaboration with Accademia Bizantina, he brought a clear understanding of Baroque music and the direction of early music ensembles. Since then, Accademia Bizantina under Dantone’s direction, has become one of the most prominent Baroque ensembles in the world. Dantone has performed at festivals and music venues such as La Scala in Milan, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, the Zurich Opera House, and BBC Proms. He has made critically acclaimed recordings for prestigious labels such as Decca Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, Naïve, and Harmonia Mundi.
New Zealand soprano Madison Nonoa Horsefield is a recent graduate of the prestigious opera course at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Madison has made her debut at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera as First Siren (Rinaldo) and was selected as a 2020/2021 Jerwood Young Artist for the Festival. She was named a Samling Artist in 2020 and is a current Britten-Pears Young Artist and OAE Rising Star, as well as a former Dame Malvina Major Emerging Young Artist with New Zealand Opera, where she made her debut as Papagena (Die Zauberflöte).
Shakèd Bar is praised by the New York Times as ‘a voice of exceptional liveliness and presence’. The mezzo-soprano received her Bachelor of Music degree from Jerusalem Academy of Music, and continued her studies with a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School. Bar made her debut on the opera stage as Fiordiligi (Mozart’s Così fan tutte) at Festival della Valle d’Itria. That same year, she won the Selma D and Leon Fishbach Memorial Prize at the Handel Singing Competition in London. She has also sung roles such as Fillide (from Handel’s Aminta e Fillide), Dido (Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas), and Zerlina (Mozart’s Don Giovanni).
Delphine Galou is an award-winning French alto, known for her work with early music. Her technical excellence combined with an intense stage presence, have led to critically acclaimed performances all over the world. She has performed in concert halls and at festivals such as Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Royal Opera House London, Händel Festival in Karlsruhe, Staatsoper Berlin, Theater an der Wien, and Maggio Musicale in Florence. Galou has worked with leading ensembles, such as I Barocchisti (Diego Fasolis), Le Concert des Nations (Jordi Savall), and Les Talens Lyriques (Christophe Rousset).
Martin Vanberg has established himself as one of Scandinavia’s leading baroque tenors. With a beautiful timbre and agile voice, he has considerable experience performing Baroque and Classical music. He is also sought after in modern operas and operettas. Vanberg studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and the Royal Danish Opera Academy in Copenhagen. He has worked with orchestras such as LaVerdi Barocca, I Solisti Veneti, and Accademia Bizantina, and has performed in opera houses and concert halls across large parts of Europe, USA, and Australia.
Photo: Accademia Bizantina: Giulia Papetti, Ottavio Dantone: Giulia Papetti, Martin Vanberg: Michael Erkisson, Madison Nonoa Horsefield: Steven Godbee
