Dramma per musica in three acts

Libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym

Good things come in threes: To round off his annus mirabilis, 1724/25, which had already brought him success with Giulio Cesare in Egitto and Tamerlano, George Frideric Handel came up with a third composition that can justifiably be counted among the best he ever wrote for the stage. In January 1725, Rodelinda premiered at the King’s Theatre in London to a rapturous reception. The work was frequently revived during his lifetime, and it was with a performance of Rodelinda at the first Handel festival in Göttingen in 1920 that the modern-day Handel renaissance began. The plot centres on a strong woman who will stick at nothing to rescue her husband – a genuine prima donna role, now played in Vienna by Karina Gauvin. Raffaele Pe, who can also be heard this season in Gasparini’s Ambleto, not only plays the male lead here, but also takes on the role of conductor, leading his ensemble, La Lira di Orfeo.

Concert performance in Italian with German surtitles

Introduction to the work 30 minutes before curtain-up