Theodora, Royal Opera House, review: Katie Mitchell’s new production is skewed by glib cod-feminism

Handel’s historical oratorio Theodora is one of his most sublime works. And the fact that Katie Mitchell’s new production is brandished as state-of-the-art feminism, boasting two top-of-the-range pole dancers doing their near-naked thing, has certainly drawn the crowd.

The plot is simple. Theodora is a member of the proscribed Christian sect, and the Roman emperor Valens condemns her to serve as a prostitute in the temple of Venus. But she seeks imprisonment and death instead, and, after a temporary rescue by her lover Didymus, goes with him to glorious martyrdom.

As the Handel biographer Jonathan Keates puts it, the essential concept is not a dwelling on simpering religious kitsch, but a contemplation of the enduring human values that induce people to suffer for great causes. This is what powers the sublime duet as the pair are executed. It should be remembered that this is an oratorio, not an opera, and was not intended to be staged: Handel and his contemporaries regarded it as concert music.