Georg Friedrich Händel

More than 200 young singers from all over the world take part in the first edition of a competition focused on the Baroque repertoire. The prize is a leading role in Handel's Alcina. An authoritative international jury. In the fantastic setting of the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, everything is decided in a few minutes of audition.

Shot under extreme conditions and inspired by Mayan creation theory, the film contemplates the illusion of reality and the possibility of capturing for the camera something which is not there. It is about the mirages of nature—and the nature of mirage.

Jean-Marie Villegier's modern interpretation of Handel's "Rodelinda" – filmed live at the world-renowned Glyndebourne Opera House in the United Kingdom, sets the timeless tale of jealousy and treachery in the black-and-white world of the silent-movie era. Soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci sings the title role of Rodelinda, with tenor Kurt Streit and bass Umberto Chiummo performing the parts of Grimoaldo and Garibaldo, respectively.

Bartłomiej, community elder and orator, must choose an appropriate successor, but finds difficulty in the aftermath of a local girl's tragic hit-and-run death. A community's pain reverberates through fractured relationships and the burden of funereal responsibility.

A musical drama in three acts that explores all the facets of love. Venice Baroque Orchestra, conducted by Andrea Marcon. Andrea Palladio Choir, with Enrico Zanovello as choirmaster.

Abandoned at birth in the Greek mountains on a stormy night, Jon is taken in and adopted, without having known his father or mother. As a young man, he meets Iro, a warden in the prison where he is incarcerated after a deadly tragic accident. She seems to seek out his presence, takes care of him, records music for him. Jon’s eyesight begins to fail... From then on, for every loss he suffers, he will gain something in return. Thus, in spite of going blind, he will live his life more fully than ever.

In their concert Terra Mater, leading figures on the early music scene Christina Pluhar and her ensemble L'Arpeggiata celebrate Mother Nature with Swedish mezzo-soprano Malena Ernman. Vocal and instrumental art intertwine with delight until they merge, evoking not only the exuberance of Baroque nature, but also its fragility. A conceptual concert rich in associations.

Philippe Jaroussky as Ruggiero is in thrall to Patricia Petibon as the sorceress Alcina in Katie Mitchell’s virtuosic production of Handel’s opera from the 2015 Aix-en-Provence Festival, described by Bachtrack as “a night of a thousand delights”. Conducted by Andrea Marcon, this was, in the words of Opera News, “musically … a performance of the highest festival level”. The production of Alcina, by the British director Katie Mitchell, was welcomed by the Financial Times as “meticulously executed …, rich in detail, consummately polished”. As the New York Times wrote: “It involves a huge sorcery machine for turning people into animals (or whatever). And Ms. Mitchell works magic of her own onstage, constantly showing the enchantresses Alcina and Morgana alternating between glamorous public personas and their ‘real life’, older, private selves …There are also bits of simulated sex, mingling genders and suggesting, among other things, inventive new ways to hit high notes.”