Theodora

Oratorio in three parts
libretto by Thomas Morell
in English with German and English surtitles

Premiere: October 19, 2023

La Folia Baroque Orchestra
Arnold Schoenberg Choir
Musical direction: Bejun Mehta
Production: Stefan Herheim

Jacquelyn Wagner, Theodora
Christopher Lowrey, Didymus
David Portillo, Septimius
Evan Hughes, Valens
Julie Boulianne, Irene

George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Theodora centres on a woman who displays a determination that today appears startling and disturbing. For Theodora, a princess who has converted to Christianity, earthly existence means nothing compared to the promise of eternal salvation. She disobeys the command issued by the Roman emperor to worship Jupiter, preferring instead to die in the name of freedom of religion. In this work, first performed in London in 1750, George Frideric Handel and his librettist Thomas Morell turned the tangible drama displayed in the martyr’s legend as handed down into an inner conflict, thereby creating a contemplative work about religious tolerance, Christian virtues and humanist values which inspired the erstwhile master of evocative opera seria to a work of unprecedented musical introspection. For director Stefan Herheim, this makes Theodora a beacon in the history of musical theatre which takes on new relevance against the background of the spiritual vacuum of consumerism and the lack of spiritual direction that characterise our times. The globally celebrated counter-tenor and Handel specialist Bejun Mehta debuts as a conductor at the MusikTheater an der Wien with the La Folia Barockorchester.