Handel’s Performers

Small exhibition at the Foundling Museum looking at some of the performers in Handel’s works in his life time.

It took me awhile to find this display. It was billed as something significant on the website but it was just a couple of display cabinets in the Handel Room upstairs using the usual layout so it was hard to spot. It needed better signage including a sign outside to pull you in.

The main display focused on two singers. Anastasia Robinson was an English soprano whose voice dropped to contralto as she ages so Handel reworked some of his arrangements for her. The other singer was Senesino, the castrato, who was a more turbulent character. However their stories were not told well. There were few images of them so it was mainly told by the music they sang. I know I moan about noise in galleries but it might have been nice to be able to listen to the pieces. I know there wouldn’t have been recordings of these singers but it just seemed to be lacking that dimension.

There were also pictures of other performers round the edge of the room including some of the orchestra players but again there wasn’t much information about them.

Closes on 1 May 2016.

 

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