One of the absolute highlights of Baroque opera. G.F. Handel’s Rodelinda is being performed at the Teatro Real, conducted by Ivor Bolton and directed by Claus Guth, who transposes the palace intrigues to the unsettling intimacy of a contemporary residence. Lucy Crowe, Jeremy Ovenden and Bejun Mehta play the leading roles.
The story of Rodelinda is set in Milan, in the palace of the kings of Lombardy. Rodelinda, devastated by the apparent death of her husband, King Bertarido, and fearful for her son’s life and future, becomes a heroine full of courage and cunning as she defies Grimoaldo, the tyrant who has usurped the throne and is besieging her in order to make her his wife and thus consolidate his power over the state.
Opera in three acts
Music by Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)
Libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym, adapted from the libretto Rodelinda, regina de' Longobardi, based in turn on the play Pertharite, roi des Lombards by Pierre Corneille
First performed at the King’s Theatre, London, on 13 February 1725
New production of the Teatro Real, in coproduction with the Oper Frankfurt, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona and the Opéra National de Lyon
Artistic team
Conductor | Ivor Bolton
Stage director | Claus Guth
Set and costumes designer | Christian Schmidt
Lighting designer | Joachim Klein
Video designer | Andi A. Müller
Playwright | Konrad Kuhn
Cast
Rodelinda | Lucy Crowe
Bertarido | Bejun Mehta
Grimoaldo | Jeremy Ovenden
Eduige | Sonia Prina
Unulfo | Lawrence Zazzo
Garibaldo | Umberto Chiummo
Teatro Real Orchestra
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