Claus Guth's exciting 2017 staging of Handelâs "Rodelinda" at Madridâs Teatro Real, featuring Lucy Crowe and Bejun Mehta as Rodelinda and Bertarido, with conductor Ivor Bolton. After the successes of "Giulio Cesare" in 1723 and "Tamerlano" in 1724, Rodelinda completes the trilogy of Handelâs great opera seria masterpieces. The work was composed in 1725 using Nicola Francesco Haymâs libretto, a work inspired by Antonio Salviâs earlier libretto which had been itself adapted from Pierre Corneilleâs tragedy "Pertharite, roi des Lombards". Rodelinda thus brought one of the most glorious compositional periods in the Handelâs career to a close, about a decade after his arrival in the British capital. Mixing romantic storytelling and political intrigue, Handel produced one of his most beautiful scores, a true operatic tour de force.
3/24/2017