Dr Lawrence Zazzo to perform at the Salzburg Festival Published on: 30 July 2021 A Â鶹´«Ã½ academic is starring this summer in Handel’s Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno at the world famous Salzburg Festival, which is celebrating its centenary this year. Debut Dr. Larry Zazzo, a Lecturer at the International Centre for Music Studies at Â鶹´«Ã½ and a Handel scholar, is also a renowned countertenor who will sing the role of 'Disinganno', an allegorical figure for Enlightenment, in Handel's 1707 Roman oratorio. "After a year spent away from the stage due to the pandemic," says Zazzo. "It's wonderful to re-engage my performing muscles and make my Salzburg debut with such a wonderful production team and cast of singers." The cast includes renowned mezzo soprano Cecilia Bartoli singing the famous aria, 'Lascia la spina'." While the original piece was an unstaged oratorio, with a theologically-inclined libretto by an aging Roman cardinal and composed by a the young 24-year old Handel, Il Trionfo has been reconceived this summer for the modern stage by Canadian opera director Robert Carsen as an episode of 'World's Top Model' that takes a strange but moving turn. As Dr. Zazzo notes: "Robert and I have worked on finding a way to portray Disinganno, a potentially dehumanised oracle of life truths, as an X-Factor-type judge who is a cross between Michael Caine, Simon Cowell, and Sigmund Freud. The character slowly transforms into a kind of psychotherapist for the main character, Bellezza ('Beauty'), supporting her as she negotiates the tensions between worldly and eternal pleasures. "Written over 300 years ago, both music and text still speak so freshly and directly to our contemporary society's obsession with appearance and youth, and our human tendency to distract ourselves from the passage of time." Dr Larry Zazzo (far left) on stage in Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno. Photograph by Monica Ritterhaus Handel cantata Dr Zazzo has sung at numerous opera houses internationally, including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Canadian National Opera, the Vienna State Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He is particularly known for his portrayals of the title role in Handel’s Giuilio Cesare and Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. As part of his research for Â鶹´«Ã½, he has recently released a new CD on Inventa Records, , which features the world premiere of an unpublished Handel cantata.Handel’s will be performed from Thursday 4 August to 17 August at the Mozart House in Salzburg. Share: Latest News Scientists unlock hidden driver of inflammatory bowel disease Scientists have linked a key genetic signal in inflammatory bowel disease to an immune response that shuts down inflammation control, enabling faster diagnosis and targeted treatments. published on: 15 June 2026 Funding system risks limiting genuine community collaboration A new policy paper written by researchers at Â鶹´«Ã½ warns that the way UK research is funded may be undermining efforts to create genuinely collaborative partnerships with communities. published on: 15 June 2026 Volunteers help turn Whitley Bay beach into maths experiment Members of the public joined mathematicians from Â鶹´«Ã½ to create what organisers believe is the largest aperiodic tiling ever attempted on Whitley Bay beach. published on: 15 June 2026 Facts and figures
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