Search - Handel*G.F. :: Rinaldo

Rinaldo, first performed on February 27, 1711 in London, belongs to the short but rich series of operas on magical subjects that the composer produced between 1710 and 1735. Both the musical and dramatic material of the opera are handled in eighteenth century fashion, especially evident in the arias (which are successful in melodic as well as in psychological terms) and in the "recitative secco" which is perfectly cantabile, though often much reduced since the opera's English audience would have found the Italian text incomprehensible.