The English Concert

Harry Bicket, The English Concert and an experienced theatrical cast revive Handel’s magnificent, rarely-heard “musical drama”.

Handel called Hercules (1745) a “musical drama”, and it’s a red-blooded adaptation of classical myth, peopled by deeply human characters and framed by choral writing that’s urgent and monumental by turns. As seasoned Handelians, Bicket and his team are ideally placed to bring out its full dramatic power.

Hercules is a rarity: an opera designed for the concert hall, and one of Handel’s most inspired achievements. And given how well Handel’s operas work in concert (and how effective his oratorios can be when staged) it’s astonishing that we don’t hear it more often. Maybe that’s because it demands a bravura performance - though tonight it should get one. Harry Bicket and Alice Coote have both performed Hercules in the theatre; with Matthew Rose as Hercules and James Gilchrist as Hyllus, they’re ideally placed to realise the sheer drama of Handel at his mature operatic peak.