Rinaldo (HWV 7) is an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, now a part of the standard operatic repertoire. The Italian libretto was written by Giacomo Rossi based on episodes of Torquato Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata ("Jerusalem Delivered"). It is a heroic story of battle and love set in the time of the First Crusade (1096–1099).
Rinaldo was the first opera Handel produced for London and the first Italian opera composed specifically for the Lo...
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Rinaldo (HWV 7) is an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, now a part of the standard operatic repertoire. The Italian libretto was written by Giacomo Rossi based on episodes of Torquato Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata ("Jerusalem Delivered"). It is a heroic story of battle and love set in the time of the First Crusade (1096–1099).
Rinaldo was the first opera Handel produced for London and the first Italian opera composed specifically for the London stage. It was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in The Haymarket on 24 February 1711. It was a great success thanks in part to the participation of two of the leading castrati of the era, Nicolo Grimaldi and Valentino Urbani. The strains of financing its grand production, however, resulted in liens from the unpaid craftsmen, and the Lord Chamberlain's office revoked the impresario Aaron Hill's license nine days after the opening of Rinaldo.
The pastoral idyll of the plot (Armida's hate for the crusaders turned into love for one...
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