Close your eyes to the sun’s rays.
This is th’enchanted gazer’s mind:
A frmament glister’d with breathing stars,
Hidden in the vague lights
In the realms of Sorrow‍

Reuniting award winning director Adele Thomas and LHF Music Director Laurence Cummings, In the Realms of Sorrow is a rare opportunity to see staged performances of four of Handel’s most soul searching cantatas.

Fusing exquisite singing and dance theatre, In the Realms of Sorrow is a fascinating insight into young Handel’s early capacity for depicting the complexity of the human soul. Seen together, the four cantatas cre- ate a raw and alluring journey into love, obsession, delusion and ecstasy.

Featuring brand new music by acclaimed composer Héloïse Werner. In the Realms of Sorrow promises to be one of the most extraordinary events the London Handel Festival has ever staged, performed at the atmospheric Stone Nest.

Il delirio amoroso HWV 99

Armida abbandonata HWV 105

Ero e Leandro HWV 150

Agrippina condotta a morire HWV 110

Additional composition by Héloïse Werner

James Laing, Patrick Terry, Nardus Williams, Soraya Mafi, Claire Booth and dancer Jonathon Luke Baker

Laurence Cummings- Musical Director

Adele Thomas - Director

Emma Woods - Choreographer

Hannah Clark - Designer

Josh Pharo - Lighting and Video Designer

Thom Shaw - Make up Artist

Running time: 2hrs (including 1 interval)

This new production has been made possible thanks to the very generous gift made by Kate Turner in memory of the late Paul Rhys Farrell (1959 – 2022).