Handel - Theodora / Gritton, Bickley, Blaze, Agnew, A. Smith, N. Davies, Gabrieli Consort and Players, McCreesh
"The Jews will not come to it, because it is a Christian story; and the  Ladies will not, because it is a virtuous one." Such was Handel's own assessment  of the prospects forTheodora. This oratorio always has been highly  esteemed by serious Handelians; in the composer's time, as in our own. Many  listeners, however, could be forgiven for finding somewhat tiresome the musical  account of the oh-so-chaste Princess Theodora of Antioch and her martyrdom at  the hands of the Romans. Certainly many modern performances have tended to drone  on--in a virtuously Protestant manner--about bidding farewell to worldly things  and clinging to faith through tribulation. Of the many marvelous things about  this recording, the most remarkable is the vocal acting:Paul McCreeshand his cast have created real characters  with real conflicts. Susan Gritton gives us a youthful Theodora who is almost  besotted with her own virtue and faith--and genuinely frightened when that faith  gets her into danger. Countertenor Robin Blaze portrays Didymus, Theodora's  suitor and rescuer, with love-struck impetuousness, as well as confident  coloratura. Paul Agnew has always had a beautiful tenor voice, but never before  has he captured so well a character's internal conflicts as in the role of the  Roman lieutenant Septimius. As the Christian woman Irene and the Roman governor  Valens (the libretto's respective compass points of good and evil), mezzo Susan  Bickley and bass Neal Davies bring alive what could be stock roles--Bickley  delicate and pure yet steadfast, and Davies exuberantly tyrannical. McCreesh's  superb chorus and Baroque orchestra, as thrilling here as they were inSolomon, are probably the  best interpreters of Handel oratorio who are now active. We still might get a  recording ofTheodorathat's even more beautifully sung than this one,  but we're unlikely to get one that's more dramatically engaging.--Matthew  Westphal