Classical and Jazz: Preview - London Handel Festival from March 14-May 1
Published: 10 March, 2011
by SEBASTIAN TAYLOR
ST GEORGE’S, Hanover Square, in Mayfair, is to host more than two dozen concerts of music by Handel and his contemporaries, performed as part of the six-week London Handel Festival.
Launched more than 30 years ago, the festival gets under way on Monday with a performance of the Handel’s 1724 opera Rodelinda at the Royal College of Music, Kensington.
Thereafter, the festival switches to Handel’s church in Mayfair now benefiting from a major £1.2 million refurbishment programme. Concerts are also taking place at the Foundling Museum, Brunswick Square and the Wigmore Hall.
Singers taking part include Dame Emma Kirkby, counter-tenor Iestyn Davies and soprano Lucy Crowe.
The festival’s musical director Laurence Cummings said: “We are fortunate to have such a wonderful group of musicians, both young and more experienced, here in London. It was just the same in Handel’s day. ”
• London Handel Festival runs from March 14-May 1; 01460 54660; www.london-handel festival.com