Handel in Halle

OVERVIEW

Enjoy the Baroque music of George Fredric Handel, a master of the various musical genres of his time from grand opera to solemn oratorio and majestic concerto at the Handel Festival in his hometown, Halle. Join Limelight Magazine’s Editor-at Large, Clive Paget, for a residential tour that takes in the best of the Festival and Handel’s mastery of Baroque music.

The musical program offers 8 performances across a variety of stages as the annual festival in Halle celebrates the time-honoured composer. The festival highlights have been announced and include four operas, Guistino, Ariodante, Rinaldo, and Agripinna – rarely performed on Australian stages - two Oratorio, Judas Maccabeus, L’Allegro and Il Penseroso ed il Moderato based on the companion poems of John Milton. The final performance program will be announced in November 2025.

The musical program is carefully balanced with touring that explores places of cultural interest and historical themes in the surrounding townships and is rounded out with insightful pre-performance talks by Clive taking you deeper into the music, as well as the life and times of this prodigious composer.

TOUR LEADER

Clive Paget is well known to Australian music lovers. He is a leading arts writer and critic and is Editor-at-Large for Limelight in Australia. He also writes for Musical America, Opera News, BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone, The Guardian, and others on a wide range of topics. Currently based in the UK, over the past five years he has reported for Limelight from both New York and London.

Before moving to Sydney in 2008, Clive was Sir Nicholas Hytner’s music theatre consultant at London’s National Theatre, where he initiated many new projects. In 1997 he co-directed the world premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s previously unperformed musical, Saturday Night, and was a founder of London’s influential Bridewell Theatre.

Highlights

• Unpack your bags for 10 days and delight in 8 performances at the annual Handel Festival in Halle

• Gain insight into the life and music of Handel, through background talks and post-performance discussion led by Clive Paget

• Explore the musical heritage of Leipzig and surrounds, from Bach to the magnificent Romantic organ in Merseburg Cathedral

• Enjoy excursions that explore Germany’s cultural heritage, including Naumberg Cathedral and Nietzsche’s childhood home and the Goethe Theatre in Bad Lauchstadt

• Appreciate the delicate aroma of the little-known Müller-Thurgau grape variety during a wine tasting in Germany’s northern-most wine growing region