Handel’s success with Italian-style opera in London had passed its initial peak by 1729. Lotario – a tale of revenge and heroism based on events in the life of Holy Roman Empress Adelaide of Italy – was the first of a new series of works intended to revive interest and challenge society’s new ‘vile taste’ for satire and light entertainment. Despite being one of Handel’s least-known operas, it displays his renowned talent for writing convincing drama with melodically rich and emotionally charged arias. This live recording is performed on period instruments by the Händelfestspielorchester Halle.

The excellent cast for this production includes names such as the renowned mezzo-soprano Anna Bonitatibus (Matilde), who was awarded the 2023 Handel Prize of the City of Halle for her outstanding 30-year career, and soprano Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli (Adelaide), who has played leading roles with orchestras, ensembles and conductors devoted to the historically informed rediscovery of 17th- and 18th-century repertoire.

Tenor Krystian Adam (Berengario) has worked with illustrious conductors including Claudio Abbado, Fabio Biondi, Riccardo Chailly, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and has played leading roles in recordings for labels such as Opus Arte and Dynamic. He took the role of Hyllo in the acclaimed Naxos DVD of Cavalli’s Ercole amante (211067980) regarded in Scherzo as ‘a remarkable production of the Opéra Comique… a simply unforgettable show.’

The Händelfestspielorchester Halle has been making music on historical instruments since 1993, and in its capacity as an Early Music specialist ensemble continues the decades-long tradition of nurturing the music of Handel in Halle. It enjoys a unique affiliation with the Staatskapelle Halle, a concert and opera orchestra that plays on modern instruments. In recent years, the Händelfestspielorchester Halle has appeared at Musikfest Stuttgart, Leipzig Bach Festival, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Semperoper Dresden, at the Handel festivals in Göttingen and Halle, where it is involved in the annual staging of a Handel opera, and across Europe and in South Korea.

Acclaimed conductor Attilio Cremonesi studied piano, organ, harpsichord and conducting in Piacenza and Basel, and is today one of the most renowned specialists of rarely performed Classical and Baroque compositions. His numerous award-winning recordings are a testament to his remarkable success. As a much sought-after interpreter of Mozart, Handel and Monteverdi, as well as Rameau, Vivaldi, Purcell, Sartori, Hasse, Haydn and Rossini, Cremonesi is a welcome guest at renowned festivals and opera houses worldwide, such as the Innsbrucker Festwochen, Wiener Festwochen, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, HändelFestspiele Halle, Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele, Lucerne Festival, Prague Spring Festival, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Nationaltheater Mannheim, Theater an der Wien, Stadttheater Klagenfurt, Teatro Municipal de Santiago and the Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse.

Cast:
- Adelaide: Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli (soprano)
- Lotario: Carlo Vistoli (countertenor)
- Matilde: Anna Bonitatibus (mezzo-soprano)
- Berengario: Krystian Adam (tenor)
- Idelberto: Rafał Tomkiewicz (countertenor)
- Clodomiro: Ki-Hyun Park (bass)