Live, Video: Kritiken zu klassischen Konzerten, Opern, Ballett und Tanz finden | St George's, Hanover Square

The London Handel Festival offers a chance to hear rarely performed music for Passiontide, with Harry Bicket conducting the English Concert. 

A glorious Esther from Laurence Cummings and the London Handel Singers and Orchestra, with a classy line-up of soloists led by Nardus Williams and Tim Mead.

There was a celebratory atmosphere to launch the 2022 festival, including royal fireworks and coronation anthems, but it was Ukrainian mezzo Anna Starushkevych who provided the evening's most moving moment. 

Handel’s Messiah is not too re-imagined, thankfully, with an almost Crystal Palace sized choir although not all singing at once!

A pasticcio not seen since 1725, Elpidia contains some excellent music... even if it isn't by Handel!

A strong cast and fine playing from La Nuova Musica gives Handel's Berenice a reasonably fair outing, but its original plot weaknesses constrain this opera from being anything more than a curio for the Handel connoisseur. 

Handel Singing Competition, which forms part of London Handel Festival, is unique in that the participants sing only Handel in all the rounds. 

David Fay was disappointed by Revolutionary Drawing Room's 25th anniversary concert, a performance of Haydn's Seven Last Words at St George's, Hanover Square which lacked emotional engagement.

Metastasio's tale of noble Roman suicide was made into a pasticcio by Handel in 1732: and, after 283 years of silence, returned to the London stage as part of the 2015 London Handel Festival. 

As a highlight of this year's London Handel Festival, the composer's rarely heard oratorio Deborah was given a strong and committed performance by Laurence Cummings and a fine cast.

Virtuostic and expressive playing from all performers in a challenging and enjoyable programme of Handel arias and sonatas, plus music from two contemporaries.

The culmination of the London Handel Festival is a much anticipated event, and tonight’s performance of Handel’s radiant composition L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato was no exception. With an array of eminent musicians performing to a packed St George’s, Hanover Square, the mood was celebratory and the performance had a glow and energy that suited Handel’s mercurial music.

Probably no other work in the repertoire has such mystical status as Bach's Matthew Passion. Phrases like "The Greatest Work in the Western Canon", trip glibly off the tongue while failing to illuminate its greatness or acknowledge its strangeness. It is the sacred cow of sacred cows.

The final of this year’s Handel Singing Competition, which opened the 2012 London Handel Festival, was a rare occasion when the winner of the First Prize matched the winner of the Audience Prize, giving satisfaction all round.

A true highlight of this year's London Handel Festival was a performance of the dramatic oratorio Saul, featuring a large cast of young soloists, including several previous finalists of the Festival's annual singing competition, all now getting well established in their solo careers.

The final of the 10th Handel Singing Competition (part of the London Handel Festival) was an all girls’ affair: of the five finalists, three were sopranos and two mezzo-sopranos. Each singer performed a 20 minute all-Handel programme of her own choice. Choosing a well-balanced programme is considered a vital part of this final presentation.

This was a remarkable concert, and not merely because of the redecorated and refurbished interior of St George’s Hanover Square, nor just for the stunningly dramatic cleaned and renovated painting of The Last Supper by William Kent that loomed over us from behind the performers, but primarily for as good a performance of Haydn Op.