Juditha triumphans - Schedule, Program & Tickets

ORATORIO IN TWO PARTS

LIBRETTO BY JACOBO CASETTI

An icon of female heroism is the biblical figure of Judith, whose apparent lover, the cruel general Holofernes, has her head cut off in her sleep. It was no coincidence that Antonio Vivaldi chose the story of the courageous woman as the subject of his only oratorio, which celebrated the liberation of the island of Corfu from the Ottoman army in Venice in 1716. At the time, Vivaldi was conducting the choir and orchestra of an orphanage for girls, and his oratorio Juditha triumphans was composed for an all-female cast. However, this does not prevent Vivaldi from giving Holofernes sympathetic traits and portraying his relationship with Juditha with a great deal of eroticism. It was precisely the absence of male voices that inspired the composer to create a colorful and refined score. Conductor Aapo Häkkinen and his Helsinki Baroque Orchestra will bring this dramatic oratorio to the MusikTheater an der Wien.

Concert performance in Latin with German surtitles

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

Subject to change without notice.