Opera
Synopsis
In Roman-occupied Antioch, the Christian princess Theodora refuses to worship pagan gods and faces execution. The Roman officer Didymus, secretly a Christian convert, risks everything to save her by trading places in her prison cell. When both lovers choose martyrdom rather than renounce their faith, even the Roman governor is shaken. Handel considered Theodora his finest oratorio, a profound meditation on conscience, sacrifice, and the clash between imperial power and spiritual conviction.