The English Concert: Handel's Rinaldo

Handel knew how to put on a show. With Rinaldo, the first Italian opera written for the London stage, he created a thrilling crowd-pleaser. Rinaldo dazzles with its expressive arias, like the plaintive “Lascia ch’io pianga,” one of the most popular soprano arias ever written. Rinaldo’s spectacular instrumental writing is unsurpassed, with rousing trumpets, drums, strings, and oboe in the martial aria “Or la tromba” and show-stopping harpsichord pyrotechnics—originally improvised by Handel—in the fiery aria “Vo’ far guerra.”

Opera in concert

Pre-concert talk starts at 1:00 PM in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage with Benjamin Sosland, Assistant Dean for the Kovner Fellowships and Administrative Director of Juilliard Historical Performance, The Juilliard School.