Italy, the birthplace of the opera, the oratorio and the cantata (not to mention the concerto and the sonata), was the country every civilised man had to visit in the 18th century. Not surprisingly, Handel, in his early twenties, found his way to Italy, in the autumn of 1706, as would Mozart, even younger, some 60 years later. Until the spring of 1710, Handel rubbed shoulders with the biggest names in Italian music: Lotti, Vivaldi and Albinoni in Venice, Perti in Florence, Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti, Caldara, Corelli and Pasquini in Rome. In the Eternal City, a papal decree banning opera prompted composers and patrons to turn their dramatic inclinations to non-theatrical forms. The abundance of available opera stars encouraged the flourishing of the secular cantata, a form that distils a long lyrical-dramatic arc into a few movements of concentrated emotion. This free concert, organised with the support of the City of Brussels, features two of these. Handel composed Armida abbandonata in 1707 for the star soprano Margherita Durastanti (who later followed him to London to sing Italian operas). Agrippina condotta a morire was most likely intended for the same diva. These mini-dramas are powerful portraits of female characters with tragic fates. Having arrived an apprentice, il caro Sassone left Italy as a master.
