Armida

Armida is an opera in three acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto (dramma per musica) by Giovanni Schmidt, based on scenes from Gerusalemme liberata by Torquato Tasso. Armida was first performed at the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, on 11 November, 1817. Isabella Colbran sang the title role, one of the longest and most demanding that Rossini wrote with difficult coloratura passages of every kind during the entire opera. The most notable ... more

Armida is an opera in three acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto (dramma per musica) by Giovanni Schmidt, based on scenes from Gerusalemme liberata by Torquato Tasso. Armida was first performed at the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, on 11 November, 1817. Isabella Colbran sang the title role, one of the longest and most demanding that Rossini wrote with difficult coloratura passages of every kind during the entire opera. The most notable are to be found is "D'amore al dolce impero" during Act 2, the duets between Armida and Rinaldo, and parts of the Act 3 finale. The first modern staging took place at the Teatro Comunale Florence on 26 April, 1952, during the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, with Maria Callas and Francesco Albanese in the leading roles and Tullio Serafin conducting. More recently, performances were given at the Rossini Opera Festival in 1993, with Renée Fleming and Gregory Kunde, conductor Daniele Gatti. Recordings of both of these productions are available. There... less