In 1735 Handel gave up opera due to dwindling public demand and turned his attention to the great sacred compositions. However, he took with him essential elements of the opera and transferred them to the oratorio, which he also called Sacred Dramas. The countertenor Franz Vitzthum has selected a number of wonderful Sacred Arias from various of these Sacred Dramas, in which his light, bell-pure alto voice comes into its own. He has compiled these arias into an exciting programme, which is finely set in scene by the Orfeo Baroque Orchestra conducted by Julian Tölle.