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Orlando (HWV 31) is an opera seria
Opera seria

Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to ca....
 in three acts by George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel was an England Baroque music composer of Germany birth who is famous for his operas, oratorios, and concerto grosso. His life and music may justly be described as "cosmopolitan": he was born in Germany, trained in Italy, and spent most of his life in England....
. The Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
-language libretto
Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, Musical theater, and ballet....
 was adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's L'Orlando after Ludovico Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto

Ludovico Ariosto was an Italians poet. He is best known as the author of the romance Epic poetry Orlando Furioso . The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, describes the adventures of Charlemagne, Roland, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracen with divergents into many side plots....
's Orlando Furioso
Orlando Furioso

Orlando Furioso is an Italian literature romance epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532....
, which was also the source of Handel's operas Alcina
Alcina

Alcina is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel. The libretto's author is unknown, but the plot is taken from Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso, an epic poem set in the time of Charlemagne's wars against Islam....
 and Ariodante
Ariodante

Ariodante is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The anonymous Italian language libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso....
.

opera was first given at the King's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre

Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, located in the Haymarket, in the City of Westminster. The present building was designed by Charles J....
 in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 on 27 January 1733. There were 10 performances but it was not revived thereafter. The first modern production was at the Unicorn Theatre, Abingdon
Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Abingdon is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire in Southern England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places which claim to be Oldest town in Britain....
, on 6 May 1959.

London's Royal Opera House
Royal Opera, London

The Royal Opera is London and the United Kingdom's most famous and most wealthy List of important opera companies, which, as the Covent Garden Opera Company, began in 1946....
 revived their 2003 production of the opera in February/March 2007 with Bejun Mehta
Bejun Mehta

Bejun Mehta is an American countertenor....
 again in the title role.






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Encyclopedia


Orlando (HWV 31) is an opera seria
Opera seria

Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to ca....
 in three acts by George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel was an England Baroque music composer of Germany birth who is famous for his operas, oratorios, and concerto grosso. His life and music may justly be described as "cosmopolitan": he was born in Germany, trained in Italy, and spent most of his life in England....
. The Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
-language libretto
Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, Musical theater, and ballet....
 was adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's L'Orlando after Ludovico Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto

Ludovico Ariosto was an Italians poet. He is best known as the author of the romance Epic poetry Orlando Furioso . The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, describes the adventures of Charlemagne, Roland, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracen with divergents into many side plots....
's Orlando Furioso
Orlando Furioso

Orlando Furioso is an Italian literature romance epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532....
, which was also the source of Handel's operas Alcina
Alcina

Alcina is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel. The libretto's author is unknown, but the plot is taken from Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso, an epic poem set in the time of Charlemagne's wars against Islam....
 and Ariodante
Ariodante

Ariodante is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The anonymous Italian language libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso....
.

Performance history

The opera was first given at the King's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre

Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, located in the Haymarket, in the City of Westminster. The present building was designed by Charles J....
 in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 on 27 January 1733. There were 10 performances but it was not revived thereafter. The first modern production was at the Unicorn Theatre, Abingdon
Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Abingdon is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire in Southern England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places which claim to be Oldest town in Britain....
, on 6 May 1959.

London's Royal Opera House
Royal Opera, London

The Royal Opera is London and the United Kingdom's most famous and most wealthy List of important opera companies, which, as the Covent Garden Opera Company, began in 1946....
 revived their 2003 production of the opera in February/March 2007 with Bejun Mehta
Bejun Mehta

Bejun Mehta is an American countertenor....
 again in the title role. The company's magazine, About the House, described Orlando's mad scene as "one of the most remarkable pieces of writing in Handel's output." The role of Angelica was sung by Rosemary Joshua and that of Dorinda by Camilla Tilling. The conductor was Sir Charles Mackerras and the director was Francisco Negrin.

Roles


RoleVoice typePremiere Cast, 27 January 1733
(Conductor: - )
Orlando
Roland

Roland is a character in medieval literature and Renaissance literature, the chief paladin of Charlemagne and a central figure in the Matter of France....
, a knight 		alto
Alto

Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high", that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano....
 castrato
Castrato

A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto human voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinology condition, never reaches sexual maturity....
Senesino
Senesino

Senesino was a celebrated Italian people contralto castrato, particularly remembered today for his long collaboration with the composer George Frideric Handel....
Angelica
Angelica (character)

Angelica is a character in the epic poem Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo. She reappears in the saga's continuation, Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto, and in various later works based on the two original Orlando pieces....
, Queen of Cathay		soprano
Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody....
Anna Maria Strada
Anna Maria Strada

Anna Maria Strada was an Italian soprano of the 18th century. She is best remembered for her association with the composer George Frideric Handel, in whose operas Strada sang....
Medoro, an African princealtoFrancesca Bertolli
Dorinda, a shepherdesssopranoCeleste Gismondi
Zoroastro, a magicianbassAntonio Montagnana
Antonio Montagnana

Antonio Montagnana was an Italian bass of the 18th-century who is best remembered for his association with the composer George Frideric Handel, whose operas Montagnana sang in....


The role of Orlando, originally written for Senesino, the great alto castrato, is nowadays generally performed by a countertenor (e.g. James Bowman or David Daniels) or a mezzo-soprano (e.g. Patricia Bardon). The role of Medoro, however, was originally written for an alto (mezzo-soprano), and this is usually retained in modern performance (e.g. Hilary Summers), though not always. The characters of Dorinda and Angelica are represented by sopranos, and Zoroastro by a bass.

Synopsis

Orlando (Roland), a great soldier in Charlemagne
Charlemagne

Charlemagne was List of Frankish kings from 768 to his death. He expanded the Franks kingdoms into a Carolingian Empire that incorporated much of Western Europe and Central Europe....
'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).

Recordings

  • William Christie, Les Arts Florissants, with Patricia Bardon, Rosa Mannion, Hilary Summers, Rosemary Joshua, Harry van der Kamp (1996)
  • Christopher Hogwood, The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM), with James Bowman, Arleen Augér, Kirkby, Robbin, Thomas (1991)


Sources

  • The second of the two volume definitive reference on the operas of Handel
  • Orlando (ii) by Anthony Hicks, in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
    New Grove Dictionary of Opera

    The New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5448 pages in four volumes....
    ', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7