Throughout the 17th century, all forms of staged musical theater were strictly forbidden during Lenten season. To substitute for this lack of operatic entertainment, this period of fasting and prayer that prepares believers for the celebration of Easter did see

Aria : Se m’ami, oh caro (Madeleine Shaw) La Nuova Musica David Bates, direction Lucy Crowe, soprano Anna Dennis, soprano Katherine Manley, soprano Madeleine Shaw, mezzo-soprano Clint van der Linde, countertenor Lisandro Abadie, bass-baritone From Il Pastor Fido 1712 /

Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno – Aria “Lascia la spina” Lucy Crowe, soprano The English Concert Harry Bicket From Il Caro Sassone Handel in Italy (2011) Released by Harmonia Mundi Handel: Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno

“She had a mezzo-soprano voice, that was less clear than penetrating. Her execution was articulate and brilliant. She had a fluent tongue for pronouncing words rapidly and distinctly, and a flexible throat for divisions, with so beautiful a shake that

“Ah! Scipione…” (Berenice’s aria) Sandrine Piau, soprano Christophe Rousset, conductor Les Talens Lyriques, baroque orchestra From Handel: Scipione (2010) Released by Aparté Handel: “Ah! Scipione…” (Berenice’s aria), from Scipione Sandrine Piau (Berenice) in Act III, Scene II: “The torment is

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), the great German-English composer, was almost completely blind by 1751. As a result, he was unable to finish his final piece of music “Jephtha”. Handel was told by Samuel Sharp, an eye specialist at Guy’s hospital,

Agrippina: Aria Bejun Mehta, countertenor René Jacobs, conductor Freiburger Barockorchester, Early music ensemble From Handel: Ombra Cara (2010) Released by Harmonia Mundi Agrippina: Aria Another outstanding recording by René Jacobs with the American countertenor Bejun Mehta. Voi, che udite il