Handel: Theodora [Blu-ray]

Rapturous
Presented at the Salzburg Festival in 2009 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the composer's death, Theodora isn't a Handel opera, but rather a staged version of his 1750 oratorio. It would however be more accurate to say that this is semi-staged, and perhaps even more accurate to say it's barely staged at all. It doesn't take a lot of imagination, and it certainly doesn't place any demands on the costume or set designers, to scatter a few chairs about the stage and have the chorus and principal singers dress in the modern formal black evening-dress of a concert performance, unless there's some hidden significance in updating the martyrdom of Theodora and Didymus from Antioch in 3AD to a concert stage. It's semi-staged in that rather than all face the audience, the singers move around a bit, remove the occasional item of clothing and put a little more acting into the singing.

As it turns out though, it doesn't matter in the slightest if it seems like the production...

Modern dress Theodora with excellent cast
I like this modern staging of Theodora from the Salzburg Festival. It is really well done, and while the scene never changes (a few chairs are moved, and that's pretty much it), it doesn't get boring at all, thanks to the excellent cast. The staging might actually be considered rather conservative, apart from the modern dresses. I feel that the director Christof Loy is trying to tell a simple story without adding distractions, so the focus is really on the music and the words. All the main singers are also excellent actors and are able to make their characters' struggles seem believable. I don't think there is anything "creepy" or "repellant" about the production, as another reviewer noted. And just to explain the cover photo, which is perhaps not a wise choice by the production company: the plot requires Theodora and Didymus to exchange clothes in the dungeon to allow Theodora to escape, but the scene is miles away from an R-rating. As for the set, there is a huge stage to...

Luminous
This stage version is completely successful as improbable as it sounds. Christof Loy as the director has faith in the audience and he treats us to a simple but painstakingly choreographed version. There is no revolving stage, no jaw-dropping light effects, no scene changes really. I admire Loy's restraint: his effort not to insert himself between the music and the listener. He lets the music itself speak. The contemporary political resonance of the work comes through crystal clear. Theodora is fundamentally a story of human beings struggling to act inside and beyond institutional power structures. This version illuminates the work's political content beautifully. Yes, it is very well sung too, but this is not a surprise given the venue.

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