The oratorio Theodora was first performed at the Covent Garden Theatre on 16 March 1750 and clearly took Londoners by surprise. Handel had, after all, made a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn in his choice of subject. The grandiose episodes of the Old Testament, the glorious struggles of Solomon, Saul, or Judas Maccabaeus are no more: the young martyr Theodora leads neither a community nor troops into battle. In a work far removed from the grand spectacle of biblical oratorios, Handel invites us to witness the poignant tale of a personal drama, a drama of the beginnings of Christianity fuelled by conscience, faith, and the heartbreak that they cause.

Tracklist:

1. Theodora, HWV 68~Ouverture
2. Theodora, HWV 68~Part I. Scene
3. Recitative: ‘Tis Dioclesian’s natal day
4. Theodora, HWV 68~Part I. Scene
5. Air: Go, my faithful soldier
6. Theodora, HWV 68~Part I. Scene
7. Chorus of Heathens: An