Standing ovations and enthusiastic, never-ending applause followed the performance of Flavio (opera by Georg Friedrich Händel) on April 17, 2024 in Halle E of the Museumsquartier as part of the Musiktheater an der Wien. The rarely performed Handel opera was the successful new staged production of the Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival 2023 and also worked magnificently in concert in Vienna.
As in the series of premieres at Bayreuth Baroque 2023, the musical direction of this excavation was in the experienced hands of Benjamin Bayl, who conducted Concerto Köln with proven high quality. The top-class group of singers was led by Julia Lezhneva as the coloratura-perfect Emilia, Max Emanuel Cencic as the beautiful and powerful-voiced Guido and Yuriy Mynenko as the wonderfully present Vitige. The young male alto Remy Bres-Feuillet from Marseille lent his angelic voice to the title role. The coloratura-savvy German tenor Stefan Sbonnik thankfully stepped in at short notice as Ugone. The two wonderful Czech artists, Monika Jägerova as Teodata and Tomas Kral as Lotario, perfectly complemented the top-class cast. The baroque orchestra Concerto Köln shone. Here is an overview of the cast:
Musical direction: Benjamin Bayl
Emilia: Julia Lezhneva
Guido: Max Emanuel Cencic
Vitige: Yuriy Mynenko
Flavio: Remy Bres-Feuillet
Teodata: Monika Jägerova
Lotario: Tomas Kral
Ugone: Stefan Sbonnik
Orchestra: Concerto Köln
