Handel's Jephtha at the Teatro Real: Lessons in Humanity

This Jephtha is the Jephthah we studied here in Sacred History. The Hebrew leader who, to ensure military triumph, promised Yahweh that he would sacrifice the first person he encountered. An atrocity that turns against the soldier, since it is his own daughter who shows up, which he deplores, as if it weren't equally unfair that someone else should be the one to get the short end of the stick. Fortunately, the Supreme Maker is the one who remedies the mistake of his excessive parishioner, sending a timely angel, telling them to stop this nonsense. The anecdote, taken from the biblical Book of Kings, is used by Handel to compose an oratorio.

This time, the dramatic aspect is almost overlooked; those affected by the insane promise complain and worry, but they share a general stoicism, which in the affected person takes on the status of heroic conformity. The music, freed from the task of scrutinizing human suffering, can focus on serving the human voice , which becomes the protagonist of the evening, thanks to the excellent concert performance by the orchestral and choral ensemble conducted by Francesco Corti and Giuseppe Maletto, with an outstanding cast that includes the great American mezzo Joyce DiDonato.

Something unusual happened at the Teatro Real. A work not among the composer's most notable, performed by a group of artists who knew how to extract a hidden beauty from it, allowed the human voice, catapulted into the power of its fragility, to express its yearning for goodness and joy within the context of a communal ceremony. What were we celebrating on May 1st? A lesson in humanity, understood as the effort, the longing, the hope of living in peace and joy with our fellow human beings. How the orchestra played, with what wise serenity the choir insisted on expressing itself, what exquisite modesty and superb skill in the soloists who alternated on the stage . A lesson in serene and joyful contemplation so implacably human that it could be mistaken for, even compared to, a religious ceremony.

Here, the Teatro Real reaches a pinnacle in its programming of operas and oratorios in concert, or in concert. A grateful audience rewarded the gift of humanity offered, perhaps a little sad at not being able to recommend it, as only a single performance is being offered (which is undoubtedly due to very prudent programming reasons, considering there isn't enough audience for more, which will be the case in upcoming performances).