La Cetra Barockorchester Basel orchestra will give a single performance of this opera composed by Georg Friedrich Händel in 1735, with an Italian libretto based on songs from Ludovico Ariosto's epic poem Orlando Furioso, at the Teatro Real on 2 June 2026.
The story revolves around Ginevra, daughter of the King of Scotland, and her fiancé, the noble Prince Ariodante. Their happiness is threatened by Polinesso, Duke of Albany, who, having been rejected by Ginevra, plots to discredit her and hence eliminate his rival.
Polinesso tricks Dalinda, Ginevra's lady-in-waiting who is in love with him, convincing her to disguise herself as her mistress and let him enter her chambers. On witnessing this scene, Ariodante believes that Ginevra has been unfaithful to him and tries to kill himself by throwing himself into the sea. On finding out about the alleged betrayal, the King disowns his daughter. Meanwhile, Polinesso tries to kill Dalinda in order to silence her, but Ariodante, who has survived, rescues her and discovers the truth.
La Cetra Barockorchester Basel is a Swiss ensemble founded in 1999 and its name comes from Antonio Vivaldi's Violin Concerto Op. 9 La Cetra - The Lyre. Since then, it has stood out as one of the world’s most prestigious ancient music ensembles.
It regularly works with the Basel Theatre and has performed with artists such as Magdalena Kožená, Patricia Petibon, Nicola Benedetti, Giuliano Carmignola or Nuria Rial. It has released a dozen albums and won the European Culture Prize for Early Music in 2009.
Since 2009, its conductor has been Andrea Marcon, an Italian harpsichordist and organist who is an expert in early music and has also worked as a guest conductor with ensembles like the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic or the Gustav Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
Artistic File:
- Musical Conductor - Andrea Marcon
Cast:
- Ariodante - Magdalena Kozena
- Ginevra - Erika Baikoff
- Dalinda - Shira Patchornik
- Polinesso - Christophe Dumaux
- Lurcanio - Emiliano González Toro
- King of Scotland - José Antonio López
- Orchestra - La Cetra Barockorchester Basel
Programme:
Serious Opera in Three Acts
- Music - Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)
- Anonymous libretto adapted from the libretto of Ginevra, Principessa di Scozia (1708) by Antonio Salvi, based on Songs IV and VI from the poem Orlando Furioso (1532) by Ludovico Ariosto
- Opera In concerto version
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