Handel Around the World
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment takes us on a tour of the world as imagined by Handel through a selection of arias from his operas and oratorios.
Handel’s deft musical touch gave his audiences tantalising glimpses of the cut and thrust of human life (and the occasional deity) or the taste of spices and wine from distant lands.
Handel’s travels defined the course of his career. His youth was spent travelling in Germany and Italy, where his early operas were produced, before eventually settling in London where he achieved commercial success and became a national icon.
In his operas and oratorios he conjured places even further afield and from the past; from the rolling fields of Lombardy to mystical India, mythical Greece to fabled Babylon.
The arias selected by Ian Bostridge are interspersed with instrumental pieces by Handel and Georg Muffat.
Ian Bostridge brings remarkable insight to music, from Monteverdi to Adès, and is the winner of seven Gramophone Awards. He is also renowned as a writer. His latest book is Schubert’s Winter Journey: Anatomy of an Obsession, which draws on his vast experience performing Schubert’s Winterreise.
Performers
- Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
- Steven Devine director
- Ian Bostridge tenor
Repertoire
- Handel: Concerto grosso in B flat, Op.3 No.2; Un momento di contento from Alcina; Pastorello d'un povero armento from Rodelinda
- Muffat: Passacaglia from String Sonata No.5 in G from Armonico tributo
- Handel: Love in her eyes sits playing; Love sounds th' alarm from Acis and Galatea
- Interval
- Handel: Overture; Scorta siate a passi miei from Giulio Cesare; Passacaglia from Radamisto; Forte e lieto; Bajazet's death scene from Tamerlano
- Muffat: String Sonata No.4 in E minor from Armonico tributo
- Handel: Scherza infida from Ariodante
Need to know
For ages 7+
Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer at 6pm: pre-concert talk with Steven Devine (OAE principal keyboard and director of this programme) and Leo Duarte (oboe). Admission free to ticket holders.
Dates & times
Price
- Standard entryFrom £10 – £82
- Concessions25%**
* Excludes £3.50 booking fee.
Book as early as you can to ensure the best choice of tickets. Ticket prices may be adjusted without notice to reflect demand.
** Limited availability. Read about concessions.
Tickets can only be sold through the Southbank Centre and our authorised agents, and can't be resold. You can return your tickets to the Southbank Centre for a credit voucher up to 48 hours before the event. Tickets resold on any third-party platforms will become invalid.
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Multi-buy discount
Classical Music: Spring/Summer 2023
As part of our classical music multi-buy offer, book multiple Spring/Summer 2023 concerts in the same transaction to receive a discount:
- 3 – 4 events: 10% discount
- 5 – 7 events: 15% discount
- 8 – 10 events: 20% discount
- 11 – 14 events: 25% discount
- 15+ events: 30% discount
Discounts apply to selected events, February – June 2023 inclusive. Offer can't be combined with the Autumn/Winter 2022/23 multi-buy.
Venue
Queen Elizabeth Hall
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The Queen Elizabeth Hall is open 90 minutes before events
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More information
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An accessible toilet is located in the foyer.
A Changing Places toilet is located on Level 1 Royal Festival Hall next to the JCB Glass Lift, for the exclusive use of disabled people who need personal assistance to use the toilet.
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For step-free access from the Queen Elizabeth Hall Slip Road off Belvedere Road to the Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium seating (excluding rows A to C) and wheelchair spaces in the Rear Stalls, plus Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer and the Purcell Room, please use the Queen Elizabeth Hall main entrance.
To reach this entrance, enter the Royal Festival Hall via the Southbank Centre Square Doors. Take the JCB Glass Lift to Level 2 and exit to the Riverside Terrace. Turn right to find the Queen Elizabeth Hall main entrance.
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Please bear with us while we update our access map to reflect the refurbishment of the Royal Festival Hall’s Level 2 foyer spaces. The step-free routes remain the same.
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