Tamerlano Los Angeles 2009 Placido Domingo, Bejun Mehta

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: Tamerlano   
• Composer: Handel George Frideric aka Händel Georg Friedrich  
• Libretto: Nicola Francesco Haym    Libretto Text, Libretto Index
• Venue & Opera Company: Los Angeles Opera, California  
• Recorded: November 2009
• Type: Staged Opera Live
• Singers: Placido Domingo, Bejun Mehta, Ryan McKinny, Jennifer Holloway, Patricia Bardon, Sarah Coburn
• Conductor: William Lacey  
• Orchestra:
• Stage Director: Rader-Shieber  
• Stage Designer: David Zinn  
• Costume Designer: David Zinn  

Information about the Recording

• Format: Streaming
• Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
• Subtitles: nosubs  
• This Recording is NOT AVAILABLE from a proper commercial or public source
•  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

Tamerlano (Tamerlane, HWV 18) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, adapted from Agostin Piovene’s Tamerlano together with another libretto entitled Bajazet after Nicolas Pradon’s Tamerlan, ou La Mort de Bajazet. The opera was staged by the Royal Academy of Music in the King’s Theatre at the Haymarket, London.

The German-born Handel, after spending some of his early career composing operas and other pieces in Italy, settled in London, where in 1711 he had brought Italian opera for the first time with his opera Rinaldo. A tremendous success, Rinaldo created a craze in London for Italian opera seria, a form focused overwhelmingly on solo arias for the star virtuoso singers. In 1719, Handel was appointed music director of an organisation called the Royal Academy of Music (unconnected with the present day London conservatoire), a company under royal charter to produce Italian operas in London. Handel was not only to compose operas for the company but hire the star singers, supervise the orchestra and musicians, and adapt operas from Italy for London performance.

Viewed as one of Handel’s major works, he composed it in the space of 20 days in July 1724, in a year in which two more great operas were composed by him: Giulio Cesare and Rodelinda. Eve Meyer has noted that the role of Bajazet was one of the first major tenor roles in opera, and has also commented on the place of the opera in the context of the contemporary fashion for Turkish culture (turquerie).

The opera is scored for two recorders, two flutes, two oboes, bassoon, two horns, strings, and continuo instruments (cello, lute, harpsichord).

18th century musicologist Charles Burney wrote of Tamerlano: “the overture is well known, and retains its favour among the most striking and agreeable of Handel’s instrumental productions.. Many of Handel’s operas offer perhaps more specimens of his fire and learning, but none more pleasing melodies and agreeable effects.”

Paul Henry Lang wrote in 1966: “here the principal role, that of Bajazet, is given to a tenor….This is the first great tenor role in opera. Handel was entirely successful in portraying Bajazet.”