Heroines

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Handel heroines are lucky: they get to sing any number of wonderful arias. And in many operas, the story even ends well for them. For example, in Ariodante the steadfastness of the Scottish king’s daughter Ginevra is rewarded with a happy end. Even Cleopatra is crowned queen of Egypt at the end of Giulio Cesare – despite the fact that she sought to kill her own brother. Only for Alcina, the wicked sorceress from Handel’s eponymous opera, does fate hold a sticky end: unrequited love results not only in her losing the man of her dreams, but also her magical powers. In the end, she is destroyed along with her island. In this programme, soprano Sophie Sauter interprets familiar arias from these works sung by heroines; the Gottesauer Ensemble from Karlsruhe performs the respective overtures and ballet music on period instruments. Katharina Eickhoff, who will be familiar to SWR2 listeners as the presenter of Musikstunde, is our charming and enigmatic guide to the programme.