Handel: Alexander’s Feast Zefiro, Alfredo Bernardini, Kutrowatz, Johannsen, Gastl, Arnold Schoenberg Chor

• George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759): Alexander’s Feast, HWV 75, Act I:
• 1 Handel: Alexander’s Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Overture. [Grave] - Allegro non troppo 03:47
• 2 Handel: Alexander’s Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Overture. Andante 01:54
• 3 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Recitative. 'T Was at the Royal Feast 01:05
• 4 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Aria. Happy, Happy, Happy Pair 02:16
• 5 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Chorus. Happy, Happy, Happy Pair 02:23
• 6 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Recitative. Timotheus, Plac'd on High 00:35
• 7 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Accompagnato. The Song Began From Jove 00:57
• 8 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Chorus. The List'ning Crowd 02:23
• 9 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Aria. With Ravish'd Ears the Monarch Hears 03:08
• 10 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Recitative. The Praise of Bacchus Then the Sweet Musician Sung 00:40
• 11 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Aria. Bacchus, Ever Fair and Young 02:19
• 12 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Chorus. Bacchus' Blessings Are a Treasure 01:54
• 13 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Recitative. Sooth'd With the Sound 00:46
• 14 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Accompagnato. He Chose a Mournful Muse 01:09
• 15 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Aria. He Sung Darius, Great and Good 02:32
• 16 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Accompagnato. With Downcast Looks the Joyless Victor Sate 00:56
• 17 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Chorus. Behold, Darius Great and Good 02:14
• 18 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Recitative. The Mighty Master Smil'd to See 00:32
• 19 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Arioso. Softly Sweet in Lydian Measures 03:15
• 20 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Aria. War, He Sung, Is Toil and Trouble 04:36
• 21 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Chorus. The Many Rend the Skies (I) 03:58
• 22 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Aria. The Prince, Unable to Conceal His Pain 05:14
• 23 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act I: Chorus. The Many Rend the Skies (II) 04:09
• Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act II:
• 24 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act II: Accompagnato. Now Strike the Golden Lyre Again 01:04
• 25 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act II: Chorus. Break His Bands of Sleep Asunder 01:11
• 26 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act II: Accompagnato. Hark, Hark! The Horrid Sound 00:28
• 27 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act II: Aria. Revenge, Timotheus Cries 07:14
• 28 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act II: Accompagnato. Give the Vengeance Due to the Valiant Crew 01:39
• 29 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act II: Aria. The Princes Applaud With a Furious Joy 02:00
• 30 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act II: Aria. Thais Led the Way 03:08
• 31 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act II: Chorus. The Princes Applaud With a Furious Joy 02:53
• 32 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act II: Accompagnato. Thus, Long Ago, Ere Heaving Bellows Learn'd to Blow 02:22
• 33 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act II: Chorus. At Last Divine Cecilia Came 02:40
• 34 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act II: Recitative. Let Old Timotheus Yield the Prize 00:23
• 35 Handel: Alexander's Feast, HWV 75, Act II: Soli and Chorus. Let Old Timotheus Yield the Prize 03:43
• Total Runtime 01:21:27

Info for Handel: Alexander’s Feast

In London in 1736, the Baroque genius Handel celebrated the power of music with his oratorio about Alexander the Great, one of the foremost successes of his life. Covent Garden was never so full as on the evening of the premiere. For this original English version, Alfredo Bernardini unites the fantastic voices of the Arnold Schoenberg Choir with his lively Zefiro Baroque Orchestra. The three soloists Miriam Kutrowatz, Daniel Johannsen and Damien Gastl tell the ancient story of how the singer Timotheus was once able to change the mood of the great Alexander, evoking a whirlwind of diverse emotions, highlighting the power of music over politics and war.

Miriam Kutrowatz, soprano
Daniel Johannsen, tenor
Damien Gastl, bass
Arnold Schoenberg Chor
Zefiro
Alfredo Bernardini, director

Miriam Kutrowatz
A recent graduate of the Wiener Staatsoper’s Opera Studio, Viennese soprano Miriam Kutrowatz has been praised for her “crystal clear soprano” (Falter).

Miriam’s 2024-25 season consists of a number of important house and role debuts. Miriam starts the season returning to Opernhaus Zürich as Atalanta in Xerxes, following her successful debut last season as Euridice in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, a role she returns to later this season. She makes debuts at the Komsiche Oper Berlin as Edwige in Robinson Crusoe and as Arsena in Johann Strauss’ Der Zigeunerbaron for the Johann Strauss Festjahr 2025. Miriam also sings Papagena in a European tour of Die Zauberflöte with Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen under Tarmo Peltokoski.

On the concert platform, Miriam continues her relationship with Semyon Bychkov in Bach’s Mass in b minor with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and in concerts and a recording of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the Czech Philharmonic. She sings Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the baton of Klaus Mäkelä and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with Orkiestra i Chór Filharmonii Krakowskiej under Christoph Alstaedt.

As a member of the Wiener Staatsoper’s opera studio, Miriam performed numerous roles including Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, Giannetta in L’Elisir d’Amore, Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos, Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro, the Sandman in Hänsel & Gretel and Konstanze in Entführung aus dem Serail.

From 2020-2022, Miriam Kutrowatz was a member of the Young Ensemble at the Theater an der Wien, where her roles included Idaspe in Il Bajazet, Marie in Der Waffenschmied, First Niece in Peter Grimes, L’Amour in Orphée et Eurydice, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Suzanne in Therese Raquin and Alinda in Il Giasone.

As part of the Young Singers Project, she made her Salzburg Festival debut in 2021 in the title role of the children’s opera Vom Stern der nicht leuchten konnte. Other roles elsewhere on the opera stage include Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel at the Schönbrunn Palace Theatre and Morgana in Alcina at the “JOpera” festival.

Miriam’s concert highlights have included Mater Gloriosa in Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg under Semyon Bychkov and as Deianira in La Lotta d’Ercole at the Cologne Philharmonie under Rubén Dubrovsky. She made her debut at both the Vienna Musikverein and the Vienna Konzerthaus in Mozart’s Requiem and appeared there in various programs under Phillipe Jordan, Andrés Orozco Estrada and Erwin Ordner.

Miriam Kutrowatz is a multiple prize-winner at the Innsbruck Festival’s International Cesti Singing Competition for Baroque Opera 2019 and a semi-finalist at the Glyndebourne Opera Cup 2020.

She completed her bachelor’s degree with KS Edith Lienbacher at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and is continuing her master’s studies with Florian Boesch. She attended master classes with Marjana Mijanovic, Malcolm Martineau and Brigitte Fassbaender, among others and received lessons in contemporary dance from the Austrian choreographer Doris Uhlich.

Daniel Johannsen
Born in 1978, the Austrian tenor is one of the most sought-after Evangelists and Bach interpreters of his generation. He studied church music as well as vocal arts with Margit Klaushofer and Robert Holl in Vienna. Mr. Johannsen participated in master classes with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Nicolai Gedda and Christa Ludwig and was a prizewinner at the Bach, Schumann, Mozart, Hilde Zadek and Wigmore Hall Competitions.

Since his debut in 1998, appearances as a concert, lieder and opera singer have taken him to the major musical centres of Europe (Vienna Musikverein, Berlin Philharmonie), North America (Carnegie Hall, New York; Maison Symphonique de Montréal), Japan and the Middle East, where he sings works from every period. He appears at leading festivals (Styriarte Festival Graz, George Enescu Festival Bucharest, Heidelberger Frühling, yearly at international Bach festivals), and he has been performing under such distinguished conductors as Sir Neville Marriner, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Trevor Pinnock and Philippe Herreweghe with various ensembles, including Vienna Philharmonic, Freiburger Barockorchester and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Daniel Johannsen is a regular participant at today’s most important Bach cantata projects (J.S. Bach Foundation St. Gallen, All of Bach).

The lyric tenor is engaged by such theatres as the Münchner Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, the Leipzig Opera, the Vienna Volksoper and the Bonn Opera, where he is heard in Mozart roles, Baroque, 20th-century and contemporary works as well as several operetta roles. Song recitals featuring the entire range of German repertoire, in addition to English and French compositions, are a central focus in the work of the singer, who collaborates with such pianists as Graham Johnson, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Helmut Deutsch and Charles Spencer. His solo albums 360° Hugo Wolf (with Andreas Fröschl), Wiener Melange (with Matthias Krampe) and Lieder ohnegleichen (Schubert songs with Christoph Hammer) were highly acclaimed by several Austrian and German radio programs as well as by the trade press. In addition, numerous other recordings, radio and television broadcasts document his creative output.

In the 2024-25 season, Mr. Johannsen is participating in a concert series for the Netherlands Bach Society under the baton of Lars Ulrik Mortensen. He will give his debuts as Male Chorus in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia in Freiburg as well as Johannes in Franz Schmidt’s oratorio Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln at Berliner Philharmonie. Concerts will take him to Norway and to the Bachfest Malaysia. His recent NAXOS recording of Erich J. Wolff songs was nominated for the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik.

Damien Gastl
Born in Strasbourg, Damien Gastl was awarded a Bachelor-of-Arts-Diploma in his hometown before pursuing further studies at the Music University of Dresden (in the vocal-class of Christiane Junghanns and the Lied-class of Olaf Bär). He also holds a Master of Opera from the August-Everding-Theaterakademie in Munich (in the vocal-class of Christiane Iven). in 2021, he was awarded a scholarship by the Richard Wagner Circle in Strasbourg as well as prize-winner of the Concours International de Chant de Marmande (Prix OFQJ - Théâtre Lyrichoregra 20).

Damien Gastl made his stage-debut in 2014 performing the role of Pierrot in Gluck’s opera Merlin’s Island, a German-French co-production for the 250th anniversary of the Academy of fine arts in Dresden. Subsequently he appeared in Don Carlo (a Flemish deputy) as well as in various staged productions of the Dresden University (Simon in Treemonisha, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte). He also joined a concert-performance of L’Ancêtre by Saint-Saëns with the Munich Radio Orchestra at the Prinzregententheater.

In 2020 he performed the title-role in a semi-stagesdversion of Don Giovanni at Styriarte in Graz where he was reinvited in 2021 for a concert performance of Orff's Carmina Burana. From 2020 through 2022 he was a member of the Opera Studio of the Opéra national du Rhin and took part at the Opéra du Rhin in the productions of Samson et Dalila (2ème philistin), Madama Butterfly (Prince Yamadori), Hänsel und Gretel (der Vater) and L'Enfant et les sortilèges (L'horloge comtoise, Le chat).

In 2022 Damien Gastl also performed Frederic (Lakmé) at the Nuits lyriques in Marmande. He subsequently appeared at the Opéra du Rhin (Der Schatzgräber by Schreker) and made his debut at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse (Melot in Tristan und Isolde).

The 2023/24 season was highlighted by his debut in the role of Conte Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro) at the Nordhausen Theatre as well as the role of Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) in a touring production of the Théâtre du Capitole. Further plans include appearances at the Opéra national du Rhin, at the Théâtre du Capitole and at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.

On concert-stage, Damien Gastl has recently sung Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (Petrus) with the Dresden Baroque-Orchestra, St. John’s Passion (Jesus) with the Batzdorf Hofkapelle and the Chamber-choir of the Dresden Vocal Academy, Elias with the Orchestra of the Elbland Philharmony Saxony, Beethoven's Symphony Nr. 9 in Stuttgart and Strasbourg as well as Mozart's Coronation Mass, Beethoven's Cantata on the death of Emperor Joseph II at Styriarte (Austria). He also performed Haydn's Nelson-Messe and Mozart's Great Mass in c-minor with the Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse.

Booklet for Handel: Alexander’s Feast