On the occasion of the 250th anniversary of Handel's death, Vienna's Theater an der Wien, famous for innovative and unconventional opera productions, realized a unique and truly extraordinary project: the staging of one of Handel's most popular oratorios. For this production, the theater signed up one of the most renowned stage directors of our time, Claus Guth. The result: "An emotionally and psychologically charged sequence of images", as the Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote about Guth's portrayal of a family dynasty, complete with guilt, betrayal, suicide and reconciliation. Conductor Jean-Christophe Spinosi triumphs with his phenomenal orchestra Ensemble Matheus and the subtle Arnold Schoenberg Chor. Winner of the Diapason d'Or and the BBC Music Magazine Award, the ensemble is internationally acclaimed for its interpretations of early music on authentic period instruments. Offering "the best of Handel vocal artistry" (Frankfurter Rundschau) are Cornelia Horak, Susan Gritton, Richard Croft and the sublime altus Bejun Mehta. Video director Hannes Rossacher, internationally known as one of the leading video directors for rock and pop events (Rolling Stones), has captured this unique performance of the oratorio on film.