G. F. Händel Gender Stories Vivica Genaux + Lawrence Zazzo Lautten Compagney Berlin Wolfgang Katschner

HändelFestspiele Halle 2019 Vivica Genaux (Mezzosopran) Lawrence Zazzo (Altus) In Italian opera, castratos were regarded as something perfectly normal. They originally sang the female parts, but from the 1630s at the latest they took on more and more male roles. So what about the female singers They sang both female and male parts. And if the opera role required that a woman should search for her beloved or relation disguised as a man, the crisscrossing gender game was complete. Baroque theatre audiences found these gender stories hilarious. With the 2017 Handel Prize winner, the magnificent mezzosoprano Vivica Genaux, whose profound, warm timbre constantly gets her cast in male roles, and the US star countertenor Lawrence Zazzo, this hilarity is transferred to a 21st century context. They are accompanied by the congenial Lauten Compagney Berlin, conducted by Handel Prize winner Wolfgang Katschner.