Juditha Triumphans

Our first foray into Vivaldi's stage works was his military oratorio Juditha Triumphans - the biblical story of Judith and Holofernes, and his eventual beheading. Written for the girls' orphanage where Vivaldi was music master, this is a truly sublime (and bloodthirsty!) work.

The orchestra contains many amazing and beautiful instruments - baroque clarinets, a gamba consort, a viola d'amore, chalumeau, four theorbos and even a baroque mandolin! The music crosses the full range from the simplicity and beauty of Veni, me sequere fida to the fireworks and passion of Armatae face et anguibus.

The work was written to be performed by the girls of the orphanage, but in our production we opted to cast David Walker as the tyrant Holofernes. Sparks flew between him and Sally-Anne Russell as Juditha. Enjoy this magnificent work.