Glyndebourne continues to celebrate the genius of Handel with its first staging of Rinaldo, the work with which he made his sensational London debut – and the first Italian opera specifically created for the British stage.

Rinaldo is given a contemporary new twist through the eyes of Director Robert Carsen, who made his Festival debut with L’incoronazione di Poppea in 2008. Skin-tight rubber and lacrosse sticks bring contemporary chic to this timeless fantasy of warriors and witches in Robert Carsen's fun-filled transformation of the opera.

Early music specialist Ottavio Dantone, Music Director of the acclaimed Italian period ensemble Accademia Bizantina, conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment from the keyboard, just as Handel himself did.

The cast is headed by Sonia Prina in the title-role of the heroic crusader, with Anett Fritsch as his beloved Almirena, Brenda Rae as the seductive Saracen sorceress Armida, and Luca Pisaroni as her duplicitous ally Argante, the King of Jerusalem.

Cast:
- Rinaldo: Sonia Prina
- Goffredo: Varduhi Abrahamyan
- Eustazio: Tim Mead
- Almirena: Anett Fritsch
- Armida: Brenda Rae
- Argante: Luca Pisaroni
- A Christian Magician: William Towers

Stage Director: Robert Carsen

Recorded live at Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes in August 2011.

"A splendid cast and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, conducted with a firm hand by Ottavio Dantone, kept one’s spirits up. Sonia Prina’s mezzo-soprano excelled." - The Telegraph


"Great music, great orchestral playing, magnificent singing" - Daily Express

Running time: 190 minutes
Subtitles: EN/FR/DE
Sound format: 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS