George Frideric Handel is one of the most prolific composers in the history of music. His body of work includes 42 operas, 25 oratorios, numerous cantatas and orchestral works and also pieces for piano, various chamber works, and sacred music.

Arthaus Musik is now releasing a unique box set, The Handel Festival Collection, comprising the operas Admeto, Tamerlano and Teseo, and an additional documentary titled 'Barockstar'.

Admeto was one of the most successful operas in the first half of the 18th century. Axel Köhler, the celebrated countertenor and director based in Munich, Halle and Berlin, staged Admeto at the Opernhaus Halle in 2006, giving the opera an imaginative, contemporary twist.

Following the 2004 performance of Handel’s fifth opera Teseo, the festival audience responded with rapturous applause. Under the musical direction of Wolfgang Katschner, the Lautten Compagney produced a stunning spectacle of baroque music.

Inspired by the success of the opera 'Giulio Cesare', George Frideric Handel composed Tamerlano in just three weeks during July 1724. The coproduction on this DVD features the Handel Festival, the Goethe-Theater Bad Lauchstädt, the Theâtre des Champs-Elysées Paris, and the Sadler’s Wells Theatre London with the English Concert conducted by Trevor Pinnock. It was recorded in 2001 and is the first ever staging of Tamerlano in the Goethe-Theater Bad Lauchstädt.

The documentary film 'Barockstar' tells the story of George Frideric Handel’s journey as a composer through Europe in the baroque period. It contains interviews with world stars and specialists in the field of baroque music, as well as descendants of Handel’s friends and patrons.

Contents:
ADMETO (2 DVD plus 2 CD)
Live Recording from the Opernhaus Halle, 2006
Cast:
- Admeto: Matthias Rexroth
- Alceste: Romelia Lichtenstein
- Antigona: Mechthild Bach
- Trasimede: Tim Head
- Ercole: Raimund Nolte
- Orindo: Melannie Hirsch
- Meraspe: Gerd Vogel
Handel Festival Orchestra Halle (on historical instruments) / Howard Arman
Director: Axel Köhler

TESEO
Live Recording from the Schlosstheater Neues Palais, Potsdam, 2004
Cast:
- Teseo: Jaeck Laszczkowski
- Agilea: Sharon Rostorf-Zamir
- Medea: Maria Riccarda Wesseling
- Egeo: Martin Wölfel
- Clizia: Miriam Meyer
- Arcane: Thomas Diestler
Lautten Compagney Berlin / Wolfgang Katschner
Director: Axel Köhler

TAMERLANO (2 DVD)
Live Recording from the Goethe-Theater Bad Lauchstädt, 2001
Cast:
- Tamerlano: Monica Bacelli
- Bajazet: Thomas Randle
- Andronico: Graham Pushee
- Irene: Anna Bonitatibus
- Asteria: Elisabeth Norberg-Schulz
- Leone: Antonio Abete
The English Concert / Trevor Pinnock
Director: Jonathan Miller

BAROCKSTAR
A Film by Ulrich Meyszies
With Howard Arman • Alan Curtis • Christopher Hogwood • Andrea Marcon • Sandrine Piau • Trevor Pinnock • Christine Schäfer
Handel specialist: Donald Burrows
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin • Handel Festival Orchestra Halle • Il Complesso Barocco • The English Concert

Sound Format: Tamerlano: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1 / Admeto & Teseo: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1 / Barockstar: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1
Picture Format: 16:9
DVD Format: 6 x DVD 9 / NTSC
Running Time: Admeto: 196 mins / Barockstar: 78 mins (Doc 60 mins + 18 mins Bonus) / Tamerlano: 323 mins (Opera 190 mins + 133 min Bonus) / Teseo: 166 mins
Original Language: Admeto: IT / Barockstar: DE, GB / Tamerlano: IT / Teseo: IT
Subtitles: Admeto: IT, GB, DE, FR, ES / Barockstar: FR, IT / Tamerlano: GB, FR, ES, JP / Teseo: GB, FR, ES, JP, IT
FSK: 12
Region Code: 0
Worldwide available