Performer: Tim Mead

An autumn St Matthew Passion in Edinburgh underplays the drama and wallows in the reverence.

Despite excellent vocal performances, David Alden’s production of Giulio Cesare in Egitto aims at irreverence but overplays the comedy.

Ruth Knight untangles Handel's Rodelinda, directing a new staging at Garsington which features a feast of fine singing. 

Laurence Cummings and the AAM serve up Messiah-shaped serenity at the Barbican. 

Handel's Giulio Cesare is heavily abridged in Sydney, but generally well-performed musically, albeit with a rather awkward staging by Neil Armfield. 

Handel's last English oratorio Jephtha is beautifully performed by Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques in Halle, although the drama is a bit slow off the mark. 

Tim Mead is the next countertenor to face our Baroque Inquisition. Read about da capo ornamentation, plus odd things he's been asked to do on stage!