When did the early-music craze begin? Most music lovers would guess the mid–20th century, yet the remarkable Göttingen International Handel Festival has been thriving for better than 100 years. Under the artistic leadership of the double-threat Athenian conductor and director George Petrou, whose tastes run from Vivaldi in a Baroque Swedish jewel box to Sweeney Todd at the ancient Herodes Atticus amphitheater in the Greek capital, a sumptuous smorgasbord has been laid on, offering recitals, lectures, and other fare, also for children. Petrou himself is the conductor for the two banner attractions. First: a single concert performance of the oratorio Solomon (HWV 67) led by the mezzo-soprano Lena Sutor-Wernich as the eponymous monarch. The soprano Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli does triple duty as Solomon’s Queen, the Queen of Sheba, and the Second Harlot, while the tenor James Way assays Zadok, the High Priest. Second: the opera Tamerlano (HWV 18), with Game of Thrones twists derived from the starchily sublime French tragedian Jean Racine. The countertenor Lawrence Zazzo takes on the titular Tartar prince opposite the tenor Juan Sancho as his prisoner, the Turkish Sultan Bajazet (a part once memorably assayed by Plácido Domingo way outside his comfort zone). Five performances. Stage direction is by Rosetta Cucchi. (Not even Petrou can do everything, everywhere, all at once). —Matthew Gurewitsch