Tomorrow brings one of Moravian Autumn’s musical highlights. Britain’s Orchestra & Choir of the Age of Enlightenment arrives in Brno with conductor John Butt. Their performance at the Janáček Theatre will feature Georg Friedrich Händel's oratorio Solomon.
"This is, without exaggeration, one of the finest ensembles in historically informed performance of Baroque music. I am convinced that we will hear Handel as we have never heard him before," said Marie Kučerová, Director of Filharmonie Brno. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment is known for defying the well-worn ruts of early-music performance. Founded in the 1980s by musicians dissatisfied with standard orchestral practice, it has no permanent chief conductor; from the outset different personalities have led individual projects, such as Charles Mackerras, Simon Rattle and Paavo Järvi. "They will appear here under the direction of John Butt, a British organist, harpsichordist and musicologist who is a byword in the Baroque world," noted festival dramaturge Vítězslav Mikeš.
Butt has recorded several highly acclaimed albums, as have the evening’s soloists. Soprano Nardus Williams, appearing as the Queen of Sheba, holds the Rising Talent award from the 2022 International Opera Awards. Mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston, who takes on the part of King Solomon, won a Gramophone Award and a BBC Music Magazine World Award for her album in 2023. Tenor Hugo Hymas and bass-baritone Florian Störtz also boast prizes and victories in prestigious competitions.
The oratorio Solomon, about the wise biblical king, is one of the highlights of Handel's oeuvre. "It stands out for its admirable musical inventiveness in both epic and lyrical passages. Handel uses unusually colourful instrumentation to make textual hints of flowers, animals, nature, love and the overall mood of individual sections almost ring out," says musicologist Petr Slouka. Unlike other oratorios, it does not celebrate military victories or call to arms; on the contrary, it extols prevailing peace and, with it, a just ruler.
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