For many years Masaaki Suzuki's reputatiuon as a masterly interpreter of baroque music in general, and Bach in particular, had grown, though he was known in Scotland only by his recordings. So what pleasure was anticipated from his Festival appearance conducting one of the grandest of Handel's operas, and with a multinational group of singers. A cast of reputable specialists was joined by Rachel Nicholls, whose voice was beginning to develop in an excitingly dramatic direction, while maintaining its flexibility. What a pity this was only a concert.
One irritation, though, was the attitude of Festival planners to its out-of-town audience. As with Poro a few years earlier (and the Glyndebourne Tour Theodora) a seven o'clock start, and estimated four-hour running time, ruled it out for those with a last train to catch, for whom an Edinburgh hotel bed in Festival time was an extravagance too far. Handel has a habit of structuring the final section of a work to generate maximum excitement, not to be missed. Managements would not dream of starting one of the longer Wagner, Verdi or Strauss operas so late - are audience members expected to leave Rosenkavalier before the Trio?. So why is it assumed that Handel can be treated in such a cavalier fashion?
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