Opera in three acts, HWV 33 (1735)
Libretto after Antonio Salvi’s libretto Ginevra, principessa di Scozia (1708), based on Ludovico Ariosto’s epic poem Orlando furioso (1516)
Musical director: Andrea Marcon
Re: José Antonio Lopez
Ginevra: Erika Baikoff
Ariodante: Magdalena Kožená
Lurcanio, Odoardo: Emiliano Gonzalez Toro
Polinesso: Christophe Dumaux
Dalinda: Shira Patchornik
La Cetra Barockorchester Basel
65/50/30 €
Scotland in the 8th century: at the royal court, a sombre game of betrayal, infidelity, jealousy and intrigue is being played out. Two alpha males are contending for the king’s daughter Ginevra: the villainous Polinesso spreads the rumour that she has betrayed her fiancé, Ariodante. His aim is to fight for her in a joust as a means of avoiding reproach and the resulting death sentence – and winning her for himself. Will Ariodante succeed in thwarting this perfidious plan? This story, an excerpt from Ludovico Ariosto’s major epic poem Orlando furioso of 1516, is one of the most accessible and exciting plots of all Handel’s operas. Premiered in London in 1735, Ariodante is one of his most frequently performed works today. The renowned La Cetra Barockorchester Basel conducted by its founder Andrea Marcon brings out the full emotional impact of Handel’s musical drama. The title role is sung by Handel Prize laureate Magdalena Kožena.
Subsidised by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, co-financed from tax revenues on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament, subsidised by the State Chancellery and Ministry of Culture of the State of Saxony-Anhalt and the State Chancellery of the Free State of Thuringia – Minister for Culture, Federal and European Affairs.