Orlando (opera)

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Orlando (HWV 31) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's L'Orlando after Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, which was also the source of Handel's operas Alcina and Ariodante.

1 Performance history
2 Roles
3 Synopsis
4 Sources

[edit] Performance history

The opera was first given at the King's Theatre in London on 27 January 1733. There were 10 performances but it was not revived thereafter. The first modern production was at the Unicorn Theatre, Abingdon, on 6 May 1959.

London's Royal Opera House will perform "Orlando" in the February of 2007. The Royal Opera House's magazine, About the House, describes Orlando's mad scene as "one of the most remarkable pieces of writing in Handel's output."

[edit] Roles

		Premiere 1729
Orlando, a knight	alto castrato	Senesino
Angelica, Queen of Cathay:	soprano	Anna Maria Strada
Medoro, an African prince	alto	Francesca Bertolli
Dorinda, a shepherdess:	soprano	Celeste Gismondi
Zoroastro, a magician	bass	Antonio Montagnana

[edit] Synopsis

Orlando (Roland), a great soldier in Charlemagne's army, falls desperately in love with the pagan princess Angelica, who is in turn in love with another man, Medoro. Orlando cannot accept this and he is driven to madness, prevented only from causing absolute carnage by the magician Zoroastro (who eventually restores his sanity).

The role of Orlando was originally written for Senesino, the great alto castrato; nowadays it is generally performed by a countertenor. The role of Medoro, however, was originally written for an alto (mezzo-soprano), and this is usually retained in modern performance, though not always. The characters of Dorinda and Angelica are represented by sopranos, and Zoroastro by a bass.