Handel Rinaldo MMF 2020 Pier Luigi Pizzi Interview by Michele Monasta

In Torquato Tasso’s epic La Gerusalemme liberata, on which Händel’s masterpiece Rinaldo is based, the tale of the attempted seduction of the hero by the enchantress Armida is told against the backdrop of the First Crusade. Musicologists agree that Händel did a major cutand- paste job on Rinaldo, as more than two thirds of his 1711 score was cribbed from earlier works. This particular production by Pier Luigi Pizzi, conceived in 1985 for Teatro Romolo Valli in Reggio Emilia, has traveled since to some twenty major opera houses worldwide. Discounting practical cuts and a few displacements of musical numbers, its durable attraction lies in the gorgeous costumes and scenery, a stylish paragon of Hyperbaroque eschewing both literalism and cheap provocation.

This lavish production is performed at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, which was the first theatre to reopen after lockdown. The set design and direction perfectly respond to the current safety measures.


Orchestra: Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Conductor: Federico Maria Sardelli
Cast:
Carmela Remigio (Armida)
Leonardo Cortellazzi (Goffredo)
Francesca Aspromonte (Almirena)
Raffaele Pe (Rinaldo)
Andrea Patucelli (Argante)
Shixun Li (Araldo di Argante)
Marilena Ruta e Valentina Corò (Donna/Due sirene)
William Corrò (Mago Cristiano)
Stage director, set and costumes: Pier Luigi Pizzi
Venue: Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Video Director: Tiziano Mancini

Recording Year: 2020
Available in: DVD, BD