Page 132 - FINAL_The Sixteen Coverage Book 40th Anniversary Year
P. 132
The real musical star, however, is The Sixteen chorus, its members managing the transitions between the
three different nations they represent with the same compelling vigour in their crisp and alert singing as in
their scene and costume changes. Their experience in performing earlier a cappella music pays dividends
here, as they bring clarity to Handel’s contrapuntal textures, alongside a palpable dramatic urgency that
drives this performance compellingly. Harry Christophers conducts the orchestra of The Sixteen with equal
alacrity; even if the performance falls back occasionally to a routine plod through some numbers, lacking
some nuance, there is no doubt as to the general impetus of the score.
Overall this is a conspicuous success for the increasingly rewarding habit of theatres to stage Handel’s
Biblical epics, revealing his dramatic genius to be at least as potent in his oratorios as in his operas.
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