Theodora - Schedule, Program & Tickets

At the center of George Frideric Handel's oratorio Theodora is a woman whose determination is surprising and disturbing from today's perspective. For Theodora, the princess who converted to Christianity, the world of this world means nothing compared to the promise of eternal salvation. She refuses the worship of Jupiter commanded by the Roman Emperor and goes to her death for her freedom of belief. George Frideric Handel and his librettist Thomas Morell turned the external drama of the traditional martyr legend inwards in the work, which premiered in London in 1750. This resulted in a contemplative work on religious tolerance, Christian virtues and humanistic values, which brought the former master of effective opera seria into one unparalleled musical inwardness. For director Stefan Herheim, Theodora is a beacon of music theater history that takes on new relevance in the spiritual vacuum of consumerism and mental disorientation of our time. The internationally acclaimed countertenor and Handel interpreter Bejun Mehta makes his conducting debut at the MusikTheater an der Wien with the La Folia Baroque Orchestra.

In English with German and English surtitles


Introduction to the work 30 minutes before the start of the performance

musical direction
Bejun Mehta

staging
Stefan Herheim

stage
Silke Bauer

costume
Gesine Völlm

dramaturgy
Kai Weßler

Theodora
Jaquelyn Wagner

Didymus
Christopher Lowrey

Septimius
David Portillo

Valens
Evan Hughes

Irene
Julie Boulianne

La Folia Baroque Orchestra
Anrold Schoenberg Choir
(Head: Erwin Ortner)

Subject to change.