Music Book Review: Handel's Bestiary by Donna Leon, With CD of 12 Arias, as Baroque Era Title #1
Any display of Handelian life and works benefits from his bestiary as artistic mosaics, paintings or sculptures and as props such as ceramic or glass or plastic figurines, lego, plush animals or tinker-toy.
The 12 "beasts" and their symbolism cooperate with wide-ranging displays relating to:
bee, as cleverness in Berenice, Regina d’Egitto;
elephant, as challenges in Judas Maccabaeus;
frogs, as crises in Israel in Egypt;
lion, as bravery in Arianna in Creta;
moth, as temptation in Partenope;
nightingale, as elusiveness in Deidamia;
phoenix, as rebirth in Admeto, Re di Tessaglia;
silver dove, as ascents in Theodora;
snake, as poison in Giulio Cesare in Egitto;
stag, as nobility in Ottone, Re di Germania;
tiger, as altruism in Alcina; and
turtledove, as safety in Floridante.
The above 12 can contribute to educating and entertaining us artistically, culturally, environmentally, historically, musically, scientifically, socially, spiritually, traditionally and symbolically, can't they?
DerdriuMarriner, May 8, 2025