Handel Opera Cycle - Muzio Scevola - Acts 2 and 3

In conversation with Handel expert Donald Burrows, Louise Fryer explores the competition in 1721 between arch-rivals Handel and Bononcini over who was the best opera composer in London. Along with cellist Filippo Amadei, they were commissioned to each write an act for Muzio Schevola to a libretto set in Ancient Rome. Filippo Amadei: Cantata: Il Pensiero Alasdair Elliott (tenor) Janiculum Giovanni Bononcini: Muzio Scevola (highlights from Act 2) Muzio ...... D'Anna Fortunato (mezzo-soprano) Clelia ...... Julianne Baird (soprano) Orazio ...... Erie Mills (soprano) Irene ...... Jennifer Lane (mezzo-soprano) Fidalma ...... Andrea Matthews (soprano) Tarquinio ...... Frederick Urrey (tenor) Porsenna ...... John Ostendorf (bass) Brewer Baroque Chamber Orchestra Rudolph Palmer (conductor) 2.35pm Handel: Muzio Scevola (Act 3) Muzio ...... D'Anna Fortunato (mezzo-soprano) Clelia ...... Julianne Baird (soprano) Orazio ...... Erie Mills (soprano) Irene ...... Jennifer Lane (mezzo) Fidalma ...... Andrea Matthews (soprano) Tarquinio ...... Frederick Urrey (tenor) Porsenna ...... John Ostendorf (bass) Brewer Baroque Chamber Orchestra Rudolph Palmer (conductor).