Opera by George Frideric Handel filmed on March 29, 2016 at the Theater in Vienna, Austria.

Alan Curtis and his renowned Il Complesso Barocco ensemble present Vivaldi's groundbreaking opera about the mythical hero Hercules and his quest to retrieve the sword of Antiope, queen of the Amazons. Mary-Ellen Nesi stars as the ferocious warrior queen, and Zachary Stains is the beleaguered Hercules, trying to appease the gods for killing his own children in a fit of rage. Laura Cherici, Luca Dordolo and Randall Scotting co-star.

The Greek army is gathered at Aulis, ready to sail for Troy, but the winds fail. The seer Calchas reveals that the goddess Artemis is angry and demands a sacrifice. King Agamemnon’s daughter, Ifigenia, must die for the fleet to depart. Torn between duty to Greece and love for his daughter, Agamemnon initially uses a ruse to bring Ifigenia to Aulis; he claims she is to marry Achilles. When Ifigenia and her mother Clitennestra arrive and learn the truth, they are devastated. What hero might intervene to save Ifigenia from the altar of sacrifice?

In search of an opera for his theatre, an impresario finds himself grappling with a group of egotists and jealous individuals. Based on a score by Florian Leopold Gassmann, this caustic satire of the 18th-century opera world is directed by Laurent Pelly. Starring Julie Fuchs as the prima donna.