Singer

One must imagine Gioacchino Rossini as a hard-working man. In 1810, at just 18 years old, he wrote his first opera. By the age of 20, he was considered Italy's most sought-after opera composer; by his 22nd birthday, he had written 13 operas and was known far beyond Italy's borders. "The Barber of Seville" remains his undisputed masterpiece and rightly belongs to the core operatic repertoire.

The Barber of Seville

Halle Opera House

A quirky comedy of oversized egos in a dysfunctional first family brought the 24-year-old Handel his breakthrough in the Italian opera scene, and thus in the world. Sparkling melodies and hair-raising turf wars made him "everybody's darling" in the "Las Vegas" of the 18th century – Venice was then Europe's number one entertainment capital. His nickname "Il caro Sassone – Our dear Saxon" came about with "Agrippina." “In every second without music, clapping and shouts of ‘Viva il caro Sassone – Long live the dear Saxon!’ and other expressions of applause, too exaggerated to quote here, shook the theater,” reported John Mainwaring. “Everyone was astonished by the grandeur and sublimity of his style, for until then no one here had heard anything remotely resembling such powerful harmonies and such dense modulations, combined in such a magical way.”

Agrippina

With the fifth new production of Handel’s Agrippina in the history of Halle Opera, two world stars will be making their first appearance at the Handel Festival on the Saale: the British conductor Laurence Cummings, formerly director of the Handel Festivals in London and Göttingen and today music director at the Academy of Ancient Music London, and the Serbian scenic designer Aleksandar Denić, known for his powerful graphic creations for Emir Kusturica and Frank Castorf. Together with Walter Sutcliffe, they are creating a vibrant new perspective on Handel’s youthful work. Romelia Lichtenstein leads an international cast of prominent guest singers and ensemble members. This melodious comedy of oversized egos in a dysfunctional First Family gave the 24-year-old composer his breakthrough. It shows a society driven by greed for power, vanity, cunning and stupidity in a complex plot with numerous, fortuitous reversals of situation.

Soprano

Romelia Lichtenstein

Events

Upcoming events

Feb 20 - Jun 13, 2026

Agrippina · Staatskapelle Halle

Mar 28 - Apr 19, 2026

The Barber of Seville · Staatskapelle Halle

Past events

Mar 28 - Apr 19, 2026

The Barber of Seville · Staatskapelle Halle

Feb 20 - Jun 13, 2026

Agrippina · Staatskapelle Halle

Future and recently performed repertoire

Marzelline (Berta) in The Barber of Seville by Rossini

Staatskapelle Halle

Agrippina in Agrippina by Handel

Händel-Festspiele Halle

About

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