Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno

Giovanni Antonini and Il Giardino Armonico perform George Frideric Handel’s Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, the composer’s first Roman oratorio, written in 1707 to a libretto by Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili. Four allegorical figures — Bellezza, Piacere, Tempo and Disinganno — debate appearance and truth, youth and transience, pleasure and moral awakening. Handel turns the philosophical argument into vivid musical theatre through arias, recitatives and ensembles; among its best-known pages is “Lascia la spina”, music later reworked as “Lascia ch’io pianga” in Rinaldo. The cast is Anett Fritsch (Bellezza), Julia Lezhneva (Piacere), Lucile Richardot (Disinganno) and Krystian Adam (Tempo), with Giovanni Antonini conducting Il Giardino Armonico. The performance marks the work’s premiere at the Gran Teatre del Liceu; the theatre gives an approximate running time of 2 hours 30 minutes.