Jephtha

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Half of London was thrilled when Handel completed his last oratorio, "Jephtha".

In the middle of the final chorus of the second act, at "How dark, o Lord, are thy decrees", Handel lost his eyesight. He had to abandon composing and spent some time recuperating in the Spa Town of Cheltenham. Soon rumours started spreading that he had forgotten "Jephtha’s vow", but the maestro gathered his strength and succeeded in finishing his swan song. The exceptional tragedy of Jephtha's story has always fascinated Nikolaus Harnoncourt: the fate of the leader, who must sacrifice his own daughter because he promised God the blood of the first creature he would encounter after a victory; and the tragedy of the composer, who had to wrest this last piece from threatening blindness. For his new interpretation of Handel's masterpiece, Harnoncourt has the perfect line‐up: Kurt Streit fills the title role entangled in tragedy. The wonderful Elisabeth Kulman is his wife Storgé, who cannot come to terms with the slaughter of her child; Martina Janková und Lawrence Zazzo, the newly celebrated countertenor, who has become famous for his Handel interpretations, are a young beautiful couple without a future, Harnoncourt's "Porgy", Jonathan Lemalu, plays a high priest of biblical force. Alongside, the Concentus Musicus Wien presents Handel‐ish "sound speech" with utmost intensity, and the Arnold Schoenberg Choir sings sweet dissonances of unearthly beauty.