Time 19:00
The Royal Theatre in the Old Orangery in the Royal Łazienki Museum in Warsaw
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It should come as no surprise that Aaron Hill, the director of the Queen’s Theatre in London, when wanting to introduce Italian opera to the English audiences, chose a fragment from the famous work Jerusalem Delivered as the theme of the first premiere. The brilliant epic poem by Torquato Tasso combines historical themes (the story takes place during the First Crusade) with the Christian ethos and the world of magic. Set in this context, the captivating love story and compelling characters make the text a perfect premise for musical drama. The artistry of the Renaissance work had already been appreciated by Claudio Monteverdi, who devoted multiple madrigals to selected themes. What’s more, operas with libretti based on fragments of Tasso’s poem were composed by Giulio Caccini, Jean Baptiste Lully and, of course, Georg Friedrich Haendel, among others.
The libretto for Rinaldo – an opera commissioned from a young but already recognized composer who had just arrived on the British Isles – was written by Giacomo Rossi based on a screenplay by Aaron Hill. According to his account, it took Haendel only two weeks to compose the score. The numerous borrowings from his earlier works did not even in the slightest affect the quality of the new opera. The first performances took place in 1711 and received an enthusiastic reception. After twenty years of staging the work revised by the composer himself, the opera disappeared from opera houses for almost 200 years. Rediscovered in the 20th century, it is today considered one of the most exemplary works of Haendel in this genre and continues to inspire artists and music lovers alike.
DIRECTED BY JAROSŁAW KILIAN
SET DESIGN AND COSTUMES DOROTA KOŁODYŃSKA
VIDEO PROJECTIONS MIKOŁAJ MOLENDA, MAREK ZAMOJSKI
CHOREOGRAPHY RUI ISHIHARA
LIGHTING DESIGN JACQUELINE SOBISZEWSKI
LIGHTING PIOTR RUDZKI
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR SŁAWOMIR JURCZAK
II ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AGNIESZKA KOZŁOWSKA
ASSISTANT SET DESIGNER KAROLINA BRAMOWICZ
STAGE MANAGER TATIANA HEMPEL-GIERLACH
CAST
THE ARTISTS OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA
THE PERIOD INSTRUMENTS ENSEMBLE OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA CAPELLA REGIA POLONA
CONCERTMASTER MICHAŁ PIOTROWSKI