| Rodelinda |
| The plot is less convoluted than in many operas of the period. It bears a superficial resemblance to that of �Fidelio� in that the hero and heroine are husband and wife and the last act contains a dungeon rescue scene; but in neither respect is it unique among Handel�s operas. Despite a few of the usual opera seria trimmings, generally connected with the subplot, that strike us today as contrived and faintly ridiculous, the libretto offers a clear central conflict and a number of strong situations of which Handel is quick to take advantage. Each act contains one scene -- in a cemetery, a country landscape and a prison -- that allows him to exploit the genius loci by painting a vivid dramatic background. (Source) |
| In the Baroque era, they sang with a pure �white� sound unlike the vibrato-filled tones to which we have become accustomed in most 19th and 20th century operas. (Source) |
| Most of the arias featured a style known as melismatic singing. This is where one syllable is sung over many notes. All but the slowest, most reflective arias employed this style. The composer chose a key word, or more specifically, a syllable of a key word, to emphasize in this way, by stretching out the note, sometimes for many measures in the form of an extended melisma. (Source) |
| Performance Language - English Translation
V�adoro, pupille - I adore you, o eyes Saette d�amore - The darts of love, Le vostre faville - Your sparks Son grate nel sen. - Sweetly pierce my breast. Pietose vi brama - My mournful heart Il mesto moi core, - Beseeches your pity, Che ogn�ora vi chiama - Since it ceaselessly calls you L�amato suo ben. - Its dearly beloved. Es blaut die Nacht, die hei�e Nacht �gyptens - Indigo now the night, the hot Egyptian night Und flammend lodert Sternenpracht! - Beneath the splendour of a starry sky! Da gl�hen die Sinne, da brennen die Herzen - Now the senses glow, now hearts burn In Liebe, da wallt das Leben auf! - With love, life at boiling point! Ach Sehnen, Verlangen, erf�llen die Seele, - Ah, longing, yearning, fill the soul, Das Blut wallt hei� empor. - The hot blood surges upward. Wo bleibst du, Geliebter? ? - Where are you, my beloved? Mein armes Herze verzehrt sich sehnend In Eisamkeit. - My poor, lonely heart consumes itself with yearning. |
| Beethoven, Handel and Rossini had written "rescue" operas in the 2005-06 Season- works about one lover rescuing another from misfortune. And, all of theses operas have the same twist in the usual, rescue plot: the roles are reversed. In Beethoven's Fidelio, Handel's Rodelinda and Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri , it's the man who's in trouble and the woman who does the rescuing. What was Handelian opera like? ... These operas are not particularly theatrical, with little in the way of suspenseful situations or character confrontations. But while dramatic action is minimal, the music is wonderfully alive in delineating character and expressing emotional states./ Source |
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| Roles Rodelinda, Queen of Lombardy soprano Bertarido, usurped King of Lombardy alto castrato Grimoaldo, Duke of Benevento, Bertarido's usurper tenor Eduige, Bertarido's sister, betrothed to Grimoaldo alto Unulfo, Bertarido's friend and counsellor alto castrato Garibaldo, Grimoaldo's counsellor, duke of Turin bass |