London Handel Festival
The London Handel Festival is an annual music festival centred on the compositions of George Frideric Handel. The festival also features other composers.[1] It includes a Handel Singing Competition.
History[]
It was founded by Denys Darlow, who was succeeded as musical director in 1999 by Laurence Cummings. From 2011 Cummings combined his work in London with the artistic directorship of the Göttingen International Handel Festival in Germany. There is also a post of festival director currently held by Gregory Batsleer.
Venues[]
A regular venue for concerts is the church the composer attended, St George's, Hanover Square, near his home from 1723, No. 25 Brook Street. The original organ was completed in 1725, but although the case survives, the instrument has been rebuilt more than once.[2] A chamber organ by Goetze and Gwynn has also been available to the festival.[3]
Other festival venues with a Handel connection include the Foundling Museum in Bloomsbury.
Productions of Handel operas are often given at the Britten Theatre, Royal College of Music.[4] The venue has 400 seats.[5] In 2019 there was a joint production of Berenice at the Royal Opera House's Linbury Theatre, a studio theatre of a similar size to the Britten Theatre.[6]
References[]
- ^ Hewett, Ivan (2012). "Carole Cerasi - review". Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ^ a b "St. George's, Hanover Square". richardsfowkes.com. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
- ^ "Organs used by Handel". www.goetzegwynn.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
- ^ Church, Michael (2016-03-09). "Ariodante, Britten Theatre, review: Well-sung but badly directed". Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ Palmer, Mark (2017). "The Britten Theatre". www.spectator.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
- ^ Maddocks, Fiona (March 2019). "The week in classical". The Observer.
External links[]
- Handel festivals
- Music festivals in London