Theodora

Bowing on Blu-ray, this 1996 Glyndebourne performance—the first semi-operatic staging—of Handel's penultimate oratorio from 1750 is about a Christian maiden martyred during a 4th-century Roman persecution along with a soldier who chooses to die with her. The music is magnificent—brilliantly played by the original-instrument Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducted by baroque specialist William Christie—and the singing is superb as well, with soprano Dawn Upshaw a splendid Theodora and countertenor David Daniels an excellent Didymus. Also noteworthy are tenor Richard Croft as Didymus' friend Septimius and baritone Frode Olsen as the Roman governor Valens. But apart from the overarching question of whether oratorios should be staged as operas at all, Peter Sellars' concept for this work is highly problematical: he updates the piece to the present, turns Valens into a U.S. president, and costumes the soldiers as Navy pilots in bright orange uniforms. And when it comes to the final martyrdom sequence, Theodora and Didymus are strapped onto tables to sing their last duet while receiving lethal injections. The result is a clumsy transformation, further hampered by the weird geometric hand-and-arm movements performed by the chorus in unison as they sing. Presented in LPCM stereo, this Blu-ray release is hardly cutting-edge, visually speaking, since the performance was shot in the 4:3 standard format for television. Christof Loy's 2009 Salzburg Festival version (VL-9/11) is a preferable choice. Optional. (F. Swietek)