Ariodante

Ariodante is Handel's 1735 setting of an episode from Ariosto, in which the King of Scotland's daughter is treacherously accused of infidelity to her promised husband. The premiere of this production directed by David Alden, conducted by Ivor Bolton and featuring a superlative cast including Ann Murray, Joan Rodgers and Gwynne Howell met with unanimous critical and popular acclaim. Alden, as a theatrical modernist, transformed the opera into an erotically-charged nightmare of lust, betrayal and violated innocence. The range of feelings provoked as the characters develop is caught in music of quite extraordinary emotional power, even by Handel's own exalted standards. A baroque triumph. (The Times) Enthralling from start to finish. (Financial Times)