Afternoon on 3 - Heroes and Villains - Handel: Lotario

Handel Operas 2009 Radio 3's complete cycle of Handel's operas continues with a performance of Handel's Lotario, an intended blockbuster Handel wrote to launch his own opera company in 1729. It centres on a hero who is not a womanising rake but a brave warrior, faithful to the woman he loves - Adelaide, the deposed Queen of Italy. Handel: Lotario Lotario, King of Germany ...... Sara Mingardo (contralto) Adelaide, Queen of Italy ...... Simone Kermes (soprano) Berengario, their enemy ...... Steve Davislim (tenor) Matilde, his wife ...... Sonia Prina (contralto) Idelberto, their son ...... Hilary Summers (contralto) Clodomiro, their general ...... Vito Priante (bass) Il Complesso Barocco Alan Curtis (director).