Messiah album review – Whelan takes Handel’s oratorio back to its beginnings

Conductor Peter Whelan leads a finely judged and agile period-instrument performance with only 13 singers.

Saul review – Purves didn’t just chew the scenery, he swallowed it whole

The London Handel festival opened with Arcangelo’s agile and elegant performance of the operatic oratorio. Christopher Purves dominated as the king, as David, Hugh Cutting’s voice was liquid honey

Handel: Sosarme album review – Marco Angioloni makes the case for this little-known work

Doubling as vocalist and conductor, Angiolini is joined by fine singers in this rarely recorded late work. Giacomo Nanni’s sonorous ‘Fra l’ombre e gl’orrori’ is a particular highlight

Rodelinda review – powerplay and pig’s blood in thrillingly energised Handel

Ruth Knight’s production captures the menace and high stakes in this deliciously devilish power struggle with Lucy Crowe whirling her sword like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill

L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato review – dazzling opening to London Handel festival

Jonathan Cohen and his crack baroque ensemble Arcangelo seized upon the colourful pastoral with relish, lighting up Handel’s own parish church

Handel in Rome review – Nardus Williams sounds heart-stoppingly lovely

This collection of youthful but complex cantatas written by the composer in Italy is a showcase for the outstanding British soprano

Acis and Galatea review – a hectic take on Handel’s perfectly formed confection

The pared down City of London Sinfonia are exquisite and the main singers splendid – although the overworked ensemble hop around, draining the work of sincerity

The week in classical: Giulio Cesare; Così fan tutte; Siegfried/Götterdämmerung – review

There is much fun and an excellent cast in David McVicar’s sparkling Handel revival; Mozart’s partner-swap opera soars with exuberant solos; and Wagner’s Ring marathon reaches a roaring climax

Aci by the River review – just add water for a stylish rethink of Handel

Riveting performances underpin a gratifyingly meta version of Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, retold around a Docklands film shoot

Handel: Alcina album review – Magdalena Kožená is a tour de force

Keeping the emotion foremost while relishing the shape of the music, Kožená has great support from Erin Morley and Elizabeth DeShong

Jephtha review – Clayton is magnificent as a wide-eyed zealot

Oliver Mears’s powerful but flawed staging of Handel’s biblical oratorio boasts very fine singing and performances, with Jennifer France’s Iphis and Allan Clayton’s Jephtha standouts

Prom 50: Samson review – humour, chewy harmonies and Handel at his best

Allan Clayton’s rich tenor defied the tricksy acoustics of the great hall, while the Philharmonia Chorus were truly outstanding

The week in classical: Itch; Semele; Prom 16: Hallé/Elder – review

Jonathan Dove transforms Simon Mayo’s ripping yarn into an exhilarating instant classic; it’s Thebes by way of Port Talbot in Adele Thomas’s Glyndebourne debut; and all hail the Hallé

Semele review – outstanding mezzos enliven dour take on Handel’s tale of desire

Joélle Harvey and Jennifer Johnston are ravishing, and the chorus sensational, but Adele Thomas’s staging feels neither funny nor erotic enough for what is essentially a barbed Restoration comedy

Le Concert Spirituel/Niquet review – Handel fit (literally) for a King

The newly crowned monarch took a seat for a superbly considered programme of Handel’s ceremonial music, played and sung with due fervour and sincerity