Göttingen International Handel Festival

“Laurel is a good herb
For sauce chefs;
For those who fancy it as a headpiece,
But be assured, it stings.”

Otto Julius Bierbaum wrote this almost 100 years ago in an inimitable tone, and thus brings us directly into the thematic world of this year’s Göttingen International Handel Festival: to the LAURELS one receives, on which one can rest, or which adorn the heads of prominent figures in the form of the famous wreath.

Of course, where there is success and glory, there is a darker side, as Bierbaum points out – the downfall of great rulers who often turned into tyrants, or the dialectic of success and failure that can be seen in the history of music and its literature. For every head with a laurel wreath there is one without, and for every laurel wreath there are not only those who wear it, but also those who wish to bestow it – namely you, the audience.

This year’s Göttingen Handel Festival will explore these ideas and present a colourful program revolving around power and glory, honours and the darker sides associated with them – with names both familiar and not so familiar. They all have one thing in common, however: they have already earned their laurels.