English Touring Opera

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'one of the best Handel productions I have ever witnessed'
Opera

Flavio - Handel

Flavio is a semi-seria – which means in this case that it blends one very serious, high minded story with a comic plot, and that it resolves in jubilation. Flavio (incidentally the son of Rodelinda and Bertarido, the protagonists of Handel’s great Rodelinda) is a dilettante king, his tendency to infatuation reminiscent of the younger Hanoverian kings of Handel’s England. This highly original opera opens with a duet of promiscuous lovers, rather like Romeo and Juliet at dawn, and proceeds by way of garrotting to general celebration in with one of Handel’s most joyous choruses. ETO’s production, in period costume, on Joanna Parker’s lucid blue set, pays due respect to every mood swing in this lively opera.

ETO Handelfest is made possible through generous support of The Geoffrey C Hughes
Charitable Trust & the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

English Touring Opera gratefully acknowledges the financial support of Arts Council England.