The headline event at this year’s Göttingen Händel Festival was the world premiere of “Sarrasine,” a recently constructed opera by the librettist Laurence Dale and the conductor George Petrou, based on the novella of the same name by H. Balzac using music composed by Händel. A New Pasticcio Using Händel’s Rejected Music The project originated with Petrou’s interest in the arias and ensemble pieces discarded by the composer during his time spent writing for the theatre.
The idea of simply recording the pieces on a disc did not appeal; rather, he wished to present them in the manner in which they were initially intended, that is, on the stage. Hence the collaboration with Dale. Together, they constructed the work around Balzac’s short story, into which they carefully inserted the discarded material, to create a pasticcio, a common form in 18th century opera in which arias from the composer’s and other composers’ works were redeployed in a new work; Händel, himself, often made use of material in this way.
And for a festival dedicated to the composer that sets out to explore his creative talents, it is an enterprise that can only be applauded. The narrative is set in the early years of the 19th century. Balzac is attending a soiree with Madame de Rochefide, for whom he has amorous desires.
She has become upset by the smell of death emanating from an old man in a military uniform sitting in the room. Balzac responds by taking her back in time to 18th cent.
