Rodelinda, regina de' Longobardi (HWV 19) is an opera seria in three acts composed for the first Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel. [1] The libretto is by Nicola Francesco Haym, based on an earlier libretto by Antonio Salvi. Rodelinda has long been regarded as one of Handel's greatest works. [2]
Rodelinda was first performed at the King’s Theatre in the Haymarket, London, on 13 February 1725. It was produced with the same singers as Tamerlano . There were 14 performances; it was repeated on 18 December 1725, and again on 4 May 1731, a further 16 performances in all, each revival including changes and fresh material. [3] In 1735 and 1736 it was also performed, with only modest success, in Hamburg at the Oper am Gänsemarkt. The first modern production – in heavily altered form – was in Göttingen on 26 June 1920 where it was the first of a series of modern Handel opera revivals produced by the Handel enthusiast Oskar Hagen. [3] The opera reached the US in 1931 and was revived in London in 1939. [4] A further notable London revival by the Handel Opera Society, in English and using a cut text, including both Joan Sutherland and Janet Baker in the cast, conducted by Charles Farncombe, was performed in June 1959. [4] With the revival of interest in Baroque music and historically informed musical performance since the 1960s, Rodelinda, like all Handel operas, receives performances at festivals and opera houses today. [5] Among other performances, Rodelinda was staged at the Glyndebourne Festival in the UK in 1998, [6] by the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 2004 [7] and by English National Opera in 2014. [8] The ENO production was revived at the Bolshoi Theatre in 2015. [9] The Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, performed the opera in March 2019, with Lisette Oropesa and Bejun Mehta in the leading roles. [10] The Dutch National Opera staged Rodelinda in January 2020, with Lucy Crowe and Bejun Mehta in the leading roles. [11]
| Role [3] | Voice type | Premiere cast, 13 February 1725 |
|---|---|---|
| Rodelinda, Queen of Lombardy | soprano | Francesca Cuzzoni |
| Bertarido, usurped King of Lombardy | alto castrato | Francesco Bernardi, called "Senesino" |
| Grimoaldo, Duke of Benevento, Bertarido's usurper | tenor | Francesco Borosini |
| Eduige, Bertarido's sister, betrothed to Grimoaldo | contralto | Anna Vincenza Dotti |
| Unulfo, Bertarido's friend and counsellor | alto castrato | Andrea Pacini |
| Garibaldo, Grimoaldo's counsellor, duke of Turin | bass | Giuseppe Maria Boschi |
| Flavio, Rodelinda's son | silent |
Prior to the opening of the opera, Grimoaldo has defeated Bertarido, King of Lombardy, in battle and has usurped the throne of Milan. Bertarido has fled, leaving his wife Rodelinda and his son Flavio prisoners of the usurper. Failing to secure support to recover his crown, Bertarido has caused it to be reported that he has died in exile, a ruse to be used in an attempt to rescue his wife and son.
Alone in the palace, Rodelinda mourns the loss of her husband Bertarido. The usurper Grimoaldo enters, declaring a long-hidden passion for her. He proposes marriage and offers her back the throne that is rightfully hers. She angrily rejects him (Aria: "L'empio rigor del fato"). Eduige arrives looking for Grimoaldo. Grimoaldo, having previously been betrothed to Bertarido's sister Eduige, now spurns her. After Grimoaldo leaves, the scheming Garibaldo, his counsellor, professes love for Eduige. She promises to return his love once she has had revenge on Grimoaldo (Aria: "Lo farò, diro: spietato"). Alone, Garibaldo reveals that his love for Eduige is feigned, and is part of a plan to gain the throne for himself (Aria: "Di cupido impiego i vanni").
Bertarido, in hiding nearby, reads the inscription on his own memorial and longs for his beloved wife Rodelinda (Aria: "Dove sei, amato bene?"). Along with his friend and counsellor Unulfo, he secretly watches as a weeping Rodelinda and Flavio, her son, lay flowers at his memorial. Garibaldo enters with an ultimatum for Rodelinda: either she agrees to marry Grimoaldo, or her son will be put to death. Rodelinda consents but also vows to demand Garibaldo's death when she returns to the throne. Bertarido, still watching, is aghast and takes Rodelinda's decision as an act of betrayal.
Garibaldo taunts Eduige, telling her that she has missed her chance to become queen. Eduige satirically congratulates Rodelinda, noting her sudden decision to betray her husband's memory and marry his usurper. Eduige vows vengeance on Grimoaldo. Eduige departs and Grimoaldo enters. Rodelinda sets out her terms for marrying Grimoaldo: he must in her sight kill Flavio with his own hands. Grimoaldo, horrified, refuses. After Rodelinda leaves, Garibaldo encourages Grimoaldo to carry out the murder, but he again refuses. He says that Rodelinda's act of courage and determination has made him love her all the more, though he has now lost hope of winning her. When the two advisors are alone, Unulfo asks Garibaldo how he could give a king such advice, and Garibaldo expounds his tyrannical perspective on the use of power (Aria: "Tirannia gliel diede il regno").
Bertarido approaches the palace grounds in disguise; his sister Eduige recognizes his voice. Unulfo brings word of Rodelinda's fidelity, and Eduige agrees to help Bertarido rescue his wife and son. Unulfo promises to pass a message to Rodelinda that her husband is still alive. Bertarido rejoices.
Rodelinda and Bertarido meet in secret, and are discovered in an embrace by Grimoaldo who fails to recognise her husband. Grimoaldo is outraged, believing that Rodelinda has taken a lover. To save her honour, Bertarido reveals his identity but Grimoaldo vows to kill him anyway, whoever he may be. The spouses bid each other a last farewell (Duet: "Io t'abbraccio").
Unulfo and Eduige plan to release Bertarido from prison: they will smuggle to him a sword and the key to a secret passage. Garibaldo advises Grimoaldo to put the unknown man – whether Bertarido or not – to death. Grimoaldo is racked by jealousy, passion and fear.
Languishing in prison, Bertarido receives the sword, the key, and a written note. When Unulfo comes to release him, Bertarido mistakes the visitor in the darkness for the executioner and wounds him with the sword. Unulfo shrugs the injury off, and the two leave. Eduige guides Rodelinda into the cell. Finding it empty, and seeing blood on the floor, they fear that Bertarido is dead.
Grimoaldo is tormented by remorse and flees to the palace garden, hoping to find a peaceful spot where he can seek solace in sleep (Aria: "Pastorello d'un povero armento"). Garibaldo, finding him unprotected, decides to kill him. Bertarido appears and kills the intended assassin, though sparing Grimoaldo (Aria: "Vivi, tiranno!"). Grimoaldo renounces his claim to the throne of Milan, and pledges himself once again to Eduige. He offers the throne back to Bertarido who accepts it once he is assured that his wife and son will be returned to him. There is general rejoicing.
The opera's libretto is by Nicola Francesco Haym, and was based on an earlier libretto by Antonio Salvi that had been set by Giacomo Antonio Perti in 1710. Salvi's libretto was derived from Pierre Corneille's tragedy Pertharite, roi des Lombards (1652), which dealt with the history of Perctarit, king of the Lombards. The ultimate origin of the story, as of Handel's Flavio , is Paul the Deacon's eighth-century work Gesta Langobardorum . [12] In the opera, 'Pertharite' becomes 'Bertarido'.
The German-born Handel, after spending some of his early career composing operas and other pieces in Italy, settled in London, where in 1711 he had brought Italian opera for the first time with his opera Rinaldo . A tremendous success, Rinaldo created a craze in London for Italian opera seria, a form focused overwhelmingly on solo arias for the star virtuoso singers. In 1719, Handel was appointed music director of an organisation called the Royal Academy of Music (unconnected with the present-day London conservatoire), a company under royal charter to produce Italian operas in London. Handel was not only to compose operas for the company but hire the star singers, supervise the orchestra and musicians, and adapt operas from Italy for London performance. [13] [14]
Within a year, 1724–1725, Handel wrote three great operas in succession for the Royal Academy of Music, each with Senesino and Francesca Cuzzoni as the stars, the other two being Giulio Cesare and Tamerlano . [15]
Horace Walpole wrote of Cuzzoni in Rodelinda:
She was short and squat, with a doughy cross face, but fine complexion; was not a good actress; dressed ill; and was silly and fantastical. And yet on her appearing in this opera, in a brown silk gown trimmed with silver, with the vulgarity and indecorum of which all the old ladies were much scandalised, the young adopted it as a fashion, so universally, that it seemed a national uniform for youth and beauty. [15]
To 18th century musicologist Charles Burney, Rodelinda "contains such a number of capital and pleasing airs, as entitles it to one of the first places among Handel's dramatic productions". Burney notes particularly the aria for Bertarido in act 1, "Dove sei, amato bene", calling it "one of the finest pathetic airs that can be found in all his works... This air is rendered affecting by new and curious modulation, as well as by the general cast of the melody." [16] This aria is also sometimes sung as a solo piece in English, to an unrelated text – "Art thou troubled?" – by W. G. Rothery, written in 1910. [17] [18]
The opera is scored for two recorders, flute, two oboes, bassoon, two horns, strings and continuo (cello, lute, harpsichord).
| Year | Cast: Rodelinda, Bertarido, Grimoaldo, Eduige, Unulfo, Garibaldo | Conductor, orchestra | Label [19] [20] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959, live in London | Joan Sutherland, Margreta Elkins, Alfred Hallett, Janet Baker, Patricia Kern, Raimund Herincx | Charles Farncombe, Philomusica Orchestra | CD:Andromeda Cat:ANDRCD9075 |
| 1964, studio recording | Teresa Stich-Randall, Maureen Forrester, Alexander Young, Hilde Rössel-Majdan, Helen Watts, John Boyden | Brian Priestman, Vienna Radio Orchestra | CD:The Westminster Legacy Cat:DG 4792343 |
| 1985, April 25-30 and May 3-4, studio recording at St Barnabas’ Church, North Finchley, London | Joan Sutherland, Alicia Nafé, Curtis Rayam, Isobel Buchanan, Huguette Tourangeau, Samuel Ramey | Richard Bonynge Welsh National Opera Orchestra | CD:Decca (originally); later Australian Eloquence Cat: ELQ4806105 |
| 1990, June 3-4, live in Frankfurt | Barbara Schlick, David Cordier, Christoph Prégardien, Claudia Schubert, Kai Wessel, Gotthold Schwarz | Michael Schneider La Stagione Frankfurt | CD:Deutsche Harmonia Mundi Cat: 05472-77182-2 |
| 1996 | Sophie Daneman, Daniel Taylor, Adrian Thompson, Catherine Robbin, Robin Blaze, Christopher Purves | Nicholas Kraemer Raglan Baroque Players | CD:Virgin Classics Veritas Cat: 45277 |
| 2004, studio recording | Simone Kermes, Marijana Mijanović, Steve Davislim, Sonia Prina, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Vito Priante | Alan Curtis Il Complesso Barocco | CD:DG Archiv Cat:4775391 |
| 2013, live in Martina Franca | Sonia Ganassi, Franco Fagioli, Paolo Fanale, Marina De Liso, Antonio Giovannini, Gezim Myshketa | Diego Fasolis Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia | CD:Dynamic Cat:CDS7724 |
| 2021, Sept. 16-21, studio recording at the Church of St John the Evangelist, Smith Square, London | Lucy Crowe, Iestyn Davies, Joshua Ellicott, Brandon Cedel, Jess Dandy, Tim Mead | Harry Bicket The English Concert | CD:Linn Records Cat:CKD658 |
| Year | Cast: Rodelinda, Bertarido, Grimoaldo, Eduige, Unulfo, Garibaldo | Conductor, orchestra | Stage director | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998, Glyndebourne | Anna Caterina Antonacci, Andreas Scholl, Kurt Streit, Louise Winter, Artur Stefanowicz. Umberto Chiummo | William Christie Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment | Jean-Marie Villégier | DVD:Warner Classics Cat:3984230242 |
| 2003, Munich | Dorothea Röschmann, Michael Chance, Paul Nilon, Felicity Palmer, Christopher Robson, Umberto Chiummo | Ivor Bolton Bavarian State Opera Orchestra | David Alden | DVD:Farao Cat:D108060 |
| 2011, Dec. 3, New York | Renée Fleming, Andreas Scholl, Joseph Kaiser, Stephanie Blythe, Iestyn Davies, Shenyang | Harry Bicket Metropolitan Opera Orchestra | Stephen Wadsworth | DVD:Decca Cat:0743469 |
| 2018, Oct. 11, Lille | Jeanine de Bique, Tim Mead, Benjamin Hulett, Avery Amereau, Jakub Józef Orliński, Andrea Mastroni | Emmanuelle Haïm, Le Concert d'Astrée | Jean Bellorini | DVD:Erato Records Cat:9029541988 |
Giulio Cesare in Egitto ; pronounced[ˈdʒuːljoˈtʃeːzareineˈdʒitto,-ˈtʃɛː-]; HWV 17), commonly known as Giulio Cesare, is a dramma per musica in three acts composed by George Frideric Handel for the Royal Academy of Music in 1724. The libretto was written by Nicola Francesco Haym who used an earlier libretto by Giacomo Francesco Bussani, which had been set to music by Antonio Sartorio (1676). The opera was a success at its first performances, was frequently revived by Handel in his subsequent opera seasons and is now one of the most often performed Baroque operas.
Rinaldo is an opera by George Frideric Handel, composed in 1711, and was the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London stage. The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario provided by Aaron Hill, and the work was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in London's Haymarket on 24 February 1711. The story of love, war and redemption, set at the time of the First Crusade, is loosely based on Torquato Tasso's epic poem Gerusalemme liberata, and its staging involved many original and vivid effects. It was a great success with the public, despite negative reactions from literary critics hostile to the contemporary trend towards Italian entertainment in English theatres.
Ariodante is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The anonymous Italian libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 4, 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. Each act contains opportunities for dance, originally composed for dancer Marie Sallé and her company.
Agrippina is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel with a libretto by Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani. Composed for the 1709–10 Venice Carnevale season, the opera tells the story of Agrippina, the mother of Nero, as she plots the downfall of the Roman Emperor Claudius and the installation of her son as emperor. Grimani's libretto, considered one of the best that Handel set, is an "anti-heroic satirical comedy", full of topical political allusions. Some analysts believe that it reflects Grimani's political and diplomatic rivalry with Pope Clement XI.
Flavio, re de' Longobardi is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Matteo Noris's Flavio Cuniberto. It was Handel's fourth full-length opera for the Royal Academy of Music. Handel had originally entitled the opera after the character of Emilia in the opera.
Radamisto is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel to an Italian libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym, based on L'amor tirannico, o Zenobia by Domenico Lalli and Zenobia by Matteo Noris. It was Handel's first opera for the Royal Academy of Music. The opera's plot is loosely based on incidents from Tacitus's Annals of Imperial Rome.
Alessandro, is an opera composed by George Frideric Handel in 1726 for the Royal Academy of Music. Paolo Rolli's libretto is based on the story of Ortensio Mauro's La superbia d'Alessandro. This was the first time the famous singers Faustina Bordoni and Francesca Cuzzoni appeared together in one of Handel's operas. The original cast also included Francesco Bernardi who was known as Senesino.
Tamerlano is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, adapted from Agostino Piovene's Tamerlano together with another libretto entitled Bajazet after Nicolas Pradon's Tamerlan, ou La Mort de Bajazet. The opera was staged by the Royal Academy of Music in the King's Theatre at the Haymarket, London.
Riccardo primo, re d'Inghilterra is an opera seria in three acts written by George Frideric Handel for the Royal Academy of Music (1719). The Italian-language libretto was by Paolo Antonio Rolli, after Francesco Briani's Isacio tiranno, set by Antonio Lotti in 1710. Handel wrote the work for the Royal Academy's 1726–27 opera season, and also as homage to the newly crowned George II and the nation where Handel had just received citizenship.
Scipione, also called Publio Cornelio Scipione, is an opera seria in three acts, with music composed by George Frideric Handel for the Royal Academy of Music in 1726. The librettist was Paolo Antonio Rolli. Handel composed Scipione whilst in the middle of writing Alessandro. It is based on the life of the Roman general Scipio Africanus. Its slow march is the regimental march of the Grenadier Guards and is known for being played at London Metropolitan Police passing out ceremonies.
Tolomeo, re d'Egitto is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel to an Italian text by Nicola Francesco Haym, adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's Tolomeo et Alessandro. It was Handel's 13th and last opera for the Royal Academy of Music (1719) and was also the last of the operas he composed for the triumvirate of internationally renowned singers, the castrato Senesino and the sopranos Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni.
Orlando is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel written for the King's Theatre in London in 1733. The Italian libretto was adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's L'Orlando after Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, which was also the source of Handel's operas Alcina and Ariodante. More an artistic than a popular success at its first performances, Orlando is today recognised as a masterpiece.
Ottone, re di Germania is an opera by George Frideric Handel, to an Italian–language libretto adapted by Nicola Francesco Haym from the libretto by Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino for Antonio Lotti's opera Teofane. It was the first new opera written for the Royal Academy of Music (1719)'s fourth season and had its first performance on 12 January 1723 at the King's Theatre, Haymarket in London. Handel had assembled a cast of operatic superstars for this season and the opera became an enormous success.
Siroe, re di Persia, is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was his 12th opera for the Royal Academy of Music and was written for the sopranos Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni. The opera uses an Italian-language libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Metastasio's Siroe. Like many of Metastasio's libretti, it was also set by Handel's contemporaries, e.g. by Leonardo Vinci, Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Adolph Hasse. Pasquale Errichelli's setting of the libretto premiered in the year of Handel's death.
Poro, re dell'Indie is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Alessandro nell'Indie by Metastasio, and based on Alexander the Great's encounter with Porus in 326 BC. The libretto had already been set to music by Leonardo Vinci in 1729 and was used as the text for more than sixty operas throughout the 18th century.
Lotario is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Antonio Salvi's Adelaide.The opera was first given at the King's Theatre in London on 2 December 1729.
Giuseppe Maria Boschi was an Italian bass singer – though in modern terms a baritone – of the 18th century. He is best remembered for his association with the composer George Frideric Handel, whom he worked for in both Italy and London.
The Royal Academy of Music was a company founded in February 1719, during George Frideric Handel's residence at Cannons, by a group of aristocrats to secure themselves a constant supply of opera seria. It is not connected to the London conservatoire with the same name, which was founded in 1822.
Admeto, re di Tessaglia is a three-act opera written for the Royal Academy of Music with music composed by George Frideric Handel to an Italian-language libretto prepared by Nicola Francesco Haym. The story is partly based on Euripides' Alcestis. The opera's first performance was at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 31 January 1727. The original cast included Faustina Bordoni as Alcestis and Francesca Cuzzoni as Antigona, as Admeto was the second of the five operas that Handel composed to feature specifically these two prime donne of the day.
In 1703, the 18-year-old composer George Frideric Handel took up residence in Hamburg, Germany, where he remained until 1706. During this period he composed four operas, only the first of which, Almira, has survived more or less intact. Of the other three, the music for Nero is lost, while only short orchestral excerpts from Florindo and Daphne survive.
Notes
'Rodelinda,' first performed in 1725, has long been considered one of Handel's greatest works, and rightly so.
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