Handel - Rinaldo (Ottavio Dantone, Sonia Prina, Luca Pisaroni, Tim Mead) [2012]

Skin-tight rubber and lacrosse sticks bring contemporary chic to this timeless fantasy of warriors and witches in Robert Carsen's fun-filled transformation of Handel's first London triumph. Conducting from the keyboard just as Handel himself did, Ottavio Dantone leads a youthful cast of today's luminaries in the dramatic art of Baroque opera, the 'affecting' Sonia Prina, the 'unadorned intensity' of Anett Fritsch and 'fire-breathing flair' (The Observer) of Brenda Rae.
Glyndebourne continues to celebrate the genius of Handel with its first staging of Rinaldo, the work with which he made his sensational London debut – and the first Italian opera specifically created for the British stage.
Rinaldo is given a contemporary new twist through the eyes of Director Robert Carsen, who made his Festival debut with L’incoronazione di Poppea in 2008.
Early music specialist Ottavio Dantone, Music Director of the acclaimed Italian period ensemble Accademia Bizantina conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
The cast is headed by Sonia Prina in the title-role of the heroic crusader, with Anett Fritsch as his beloved Almirena, Brenda Rae as the seductive Saracen sorceress Armida, and Luca Pisaroni (last summer’s Leporello) as her duplicitous ally Argante, the King of Jerusalem.

Performer:
Rinaldo - Sonia Prina
Almirena - Anett Fritsch
Argante - Luca Pisaroni
Armida - Brenda Rae
Goffredo - Varduhi Abrahamyan
Eustazio - Tim Mead
Christian Magus - William Towers
Herald - Oliver Mercer
Woman - Rhian Lewis
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Conductor - Ottavio Dantone
Director – Robert Carsen