3 months of Baroque housework on Culturebox

cleanliness is next to godliness

Vinci’s Catone in Utica from Versailles is out on Culturebox until 21 September. Can you say no to 4 countertenors, 2 tenors and a jolly featherduster? Be still my beating heart! Leander saw it in the house and loved the (very tidy) chandeliers. There’s music too!

Catone in Utica (London Handel Festival, 17 March 2015)

Marzia soprano: Erica Eloff
Emilia soprano: Christina Gansch
Arbace mezzo-soprano: Emilie Renard
Catone counter-tenor: Andrew Watts Christopher Robson
Cesare bass-baritone: Christopher Jacklin
Conductor: Tom Foster | Opera Settecento | St. George’s Hanover Square

It was Handel’s habit to put on a pasticcio every season where a libretto was matched with interchangeable arias from other operas and composers. This one is from 1732 and is based on Leonardo Leo’s opera of the same title about good ol’ Roman Grumpy Cat man of principle Cato. It’s an opera libretto so only marginally about ethics. Mostly it’s about who marries/loves whom.