With his four symphonic poems, Camille Saint-Saëns placed himself firmly in the tradition of Hector Berlioz and Franz Liszt. The first critical editions offer an opportunity for new interpretations based on authoritative primary sources, both in the 2021 anniversary year (the 100th anniversary of the composer’s death) and well beyond.

In keeping with the Austrian-Spanish wedding festivities, the old couple Philemon and Baucis become a young couple. Gluck’s one act “Atto di Bauci e Filemone” with its bravura arias deserves to be revived.

When Handel embarked on the composition of another new opera after Ezio in December 1731, he initially wanted to retain the geographical and historic setting of the original libretto Dionisio, Re di Portogallo (Florence 1707, Antonio Salvi). Under the title Fernando, Re di Castiglia Handel began to set the story about a struggle for power between King Dionisio and his son Alfonso, in which Fernando, King of Castile, intervenes.

In its structure Handel’s “Il pastor fido” is a rather modest work. But the music and plot offer plenty of opportunities for an effective theatrical experience.

With the new edition of George Frideric Handel’s most popular opera „Giulio Cesare“, opera houses now have the opportunity to recreate all four versions of the work and to choose the most appropriate one.

The first performance of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Comédie-Ballet „Les Paladins“ was a failure from which the work did not recover for a long time. Today it strikes us as a jewel with many opportunities for presentation on the stage.

The subject matter is well-known from Handel, but the setting by Francesco Cavalli, almost a hundred years earlier, is no less effective.