200 year old operas about classical Greece might not sound like the hottest ticket in town. But then if you had said that about medieval Chinese warlords, you would have never been to see Hero or The House of the Flying Daggers.
So when the Gottingen International Handel Fesival came to celebrate the 250 anniversary of Handel’s birth with a production of his Admeto re di Tessaglia, we shouldn’t be so surprised that they reached for some far eastern influneces.
In this case it was Japanese rather than Chinese, the way of the samurai, where everyone lives by the strictest of rules – just as they did in ancient Greece. The results are visually stunning as you can see from our exclusive video of the dress rehearsal in Edinburgh.
The story of Admeto is one of those to hell and back ones. Alceste, wife of Admeto returns from Hades only to find that Antigona is attempting to supplant her in the king’s affections. Kirsten Blaise who plays Antigona, reveals some of the secrets in our video interview.
Put together by award winning film maker, producer and author Doris Dörrie creates a new production for the International Handel Festival in Göttingen, Germany. The production comes direct to the Edinburgh International Festival for its first performances after the June premiere.
Conductor Nicholas McGegan is Artistic Director of the Göttingen International Handel Festival which is dedicated to rediscovering and reviving works by Handel.
Admeto, Friday, Saturday and Monday at the Festival Theatre.
