By George Frideric Handel and Thomas Morrell. Opera Australia and Pinchgut Opera. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. 8-9 February, 2024
Handel’s dramatic oratorio Theodora was first performed in Covent Garden in 1750. It is in English, set to the libretto by Thomas Morell. It is said that Handel considered it his best work, though history would seem to favour Messiah. It is Handel’s only tragic oratorio and the only one written in English.
Set in Rome, in the 4th century AD, it tells the story of the Christian martyr Theodora who refuses to pay homage to the Roman god, Venus, and is executed with her Roman lover Didymus, who has secretly converted to Christianity.