Sunday Afternoon at the Opera - Handel: Arminio

Sunday Afternoon at the Opera host Keith Brown writes:

Athens is not a European city normally associated in the minds of classical music lovers with opera performance in general, much less performance of baroque opera, like the Italian opera serie of George Frideric Handel. Handel's Arminio (1737) was recorded in 2015 at the Megaron, the state-of-the-art Athens Concert Hall, built in 1991. George Petrou conducted the Megaron's resident chamber orchestra, Armonia Atenea, who play on period instruments.

Starring in the title role was countertenor Max Emanuel Cencic. The role was originally sung by a castrato. Arminius is the Latinized form of the German name Hermann. This rebellious Teutonic prince defeated three Roman legions and slew the Roman general Varus in 9 AD. From the Megaron of Athens Arminio went on to be staged at the Handel Festival of Karlsruhe in Germany. Parnassus Arts Productions made the recording of Arminio possible and licensed it exclusively to Decca, who released the opera in 2016 on two compact discs.