AMINTA E FILLIDE

Georg Friedrich Handel’s early Italian opera cantatas center on a key theme: love as a borderline existential experience. In »Il Delirio Amoroso«, a solo piece for soprano and orchestra, the nymph Chloris mourns her beloved Tirsi, who has died. Consumed by grief, she spirals into a state of lamentation, delirium, and visionary ecstasy. In her despair, she chooses to follow him to Hades. Conversely, in »Aminta e Fillide«, Handel unfolds a passionate chamber drama between two characters: the shepherd Aminta desperately tries to woo the distant nymph Fillide – but she mocks his vows and coldly rejects him. Between hope and humiliation, Aminta’s lament of love intensifies to an existential urgency. Only when his loyalty is put to its hardest test does Fillide’s resistance begin to falter.

At the age of 21, George Frideric Handel had the musical capitals of Italy at his feet. He conquered Rome with psalms, cantatas, and oratorios, enchanted Naples with a serenade, and won the hearts of Florence and Venice with his operas. He gained this popularity in a musical society where he played so well that the superstitious Romans believed him to be the embodiment of the devil. While people in Germany and France were still mocking the Italians, Handel enjoyed his rise to the highest circles. Soon after, he moved in and out of the homes of the most important patrons, composed sacred music for the great Roman churches, and received commissions from various monasteries. Amidst this bustling and enriching environment, and while paving his way to opera composition, he composed his cantata »Aminta e Fillide« in 1708. Many years later, the pastoral cantata, which draws on characters from Rome’s popular Baroque pastoral plays, continues to provide material for several masterpieces. Brazilian soprano Bruno de Sá, a world star of exceptional vocal brilliance and virtuosity, takes center stage in Handel’s two operatic masterpieces. Alongside French soprano Emmanuelle de Negri and the Basel Chamber Orchestra, he promises an evening full of baroque splendor and musical sophistication.

The performance on Saturday 27. June is part of Festival-Subscription III.