The English Concert Handel’s “Rodelinda”

Britain’s premier early-music ensemble returns in its annual season engagement, for a concert performance of Handel’s masterwork Rodelinda, with star soprano Lucy Crowe in the title role. Among the composer’s greatest achievements, Rodelinda is a story of enduring marital love that remains steadfast through every adversity. Crowe lends her clarion voice to the beloved arias “Ombre, piante” and “Ho perduto il caro sposo,” and riveting countertenor Iestyn Davies fills the shoes of Handel’s star castrato Senesino as the exiled husband Bertarido, with Eric Ferring cast as the lustful and vicious usurper Grimoaldo. The ensemble’s 2021 recording of Rodelinda with Crowe and Davies earned rave reviews across the board: Gramophone praised, “The singing is first-rate, while Harry Bicket has an unerring ear for pacing and instrumental color,” and BBC Music Magazine put it simply, “Harry Bicket has gifted us the best-ever recording of Rodelinda.”