New: Rodelinda Exhibition
Widely considered to be among the finest of the more than 40 operas written by Handel, Rodelinda was composed at his home at 25 Brook Street in London and was first performed at the King’s Theatre in the Haymarket on 13 February 1725. The cast of that first performance included prima donna Francesca Cuzzoni in the title role and the castrato Francesco Bernardi, known as ‘Senesino’, playing the role of Bertarido. Cuzzoni and Senesino were among the most celebrated singers of their day and their skill inspired Handel to write some of his most sublime and virtuosic music.
To mark the tercentenary of this extraordinary opera Handel Hendrix House is staging an exhibition in the building in which the opera was composed. The centrepiece will be a portrait from 1725 by John Vandenbank depicting Sensino as Bertarido. He is shown in costume, described at the time as ‘Hungarian habit’, at the moment in the opera in which he contemplates an urn believed by the other characters to contain his ashes. It is at this point in the drama that Bertarido sings ‘Dove sei’ which soon became one of Handel’s most popular arias and was described by the painting’s subsequent owner James Harris in an inscription on the back of the portrait as ‘a most pathetic and capital song’.
In addition to the portrait of Sensino, the exhibition will include an early libretto of the opera, portraits of other cast members and objects illustrating opera-going culture from the 18th century.
Rodelinda was the first of Handel’s operas to be revived in the 20th century, when Oskar Hagen staged a performance in Gottingen in 1920.
Olwen Foulkes, curator of the exhibition at Handel Hendrix House, said “Rodelinda is the second of the three masterpieces Handel wrote just after moving into Brook Street, which would be his home and place of work for over 30 years. We are excited to be marking the 300th anniversary of the composition in Brook Street and its first performance with this exhibition, featuring this wonderful portrait of Senesino. Paintings and descriptions of singers’ costumes from this time are rare, and we hope that this exhibition will help our visitors to immerse themselves in the world of Rodelinda’s first performance.”
