London Early Opera & Bridget Cunningham - Handel in Italy, Vol. 2 (2016)

London Early Opera is not simply a performing ensemble, but "a leading symposium" for performance practice and research into opera of the Baroque and Classical periods. The group comprises historically informed musicians, singers, musicologists, historians, and editors, working together to create concerts, opera productions, and recordings. The constant in London Early Opera's performances is conductor Bridget Cunningham. Performing at major British venues including Southwark Cathedral, Grosvenor Chapel, and St James's Church, Piccadilly, as well as in France, the company has been praised by BBC Radio 3 for playing that is "beautifully focused...splendid in every respect." The group's performances cross genres, merging dramatic music and singing with narration and art history in performances of oratorio as well as opera.

Signed in 2015 to the Signum Classics label, the group has released two albums examining the music of Handel at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens and in Italy. Guests have included Sophie, Mary, and Ben Bevan, Eleanor Dennis, Greg Tassell, Kirsty Hopkins, Claire Bessent, and Charles MacDougall. The years 2017 and 2018 saw the expansion of London Early Opera's examination of the phases of Handel's career, including a new Handel in Ireland recording. ~ James Manheim