"Orlando" by Georg Friedrich Händel at the Gran Teatre del Liceu

Orlando, one of the most celebrated operas by Georg Friedrich Händel, is a fundamental work of the Baroque repertoire that has transcended time due to its emotional complexity and intricate musical development. Composed in 1732, Orlando is a serious opera based on the epic poem Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto, a story that fuses mythology, love, and madness. The opera premiered at the King's Theatre in London, a key venue in Händel's career, and has remained an essential piece on the world's opera stages, especially for its exploration of the human psyche and musical expression. 

The libretto of Orlando, written by the Italian poet and librettist Carlo Sigismondo Capece (who also wrote the verses for two other Handelian operas: Ariodante and Alcina), presents a story rich in internal conflicts and unbridled passions. The protagonist, Orlando, is a medieval knight who, amid the war, falls madly in love with the beautiful Angelica. However, the story takes a tragic turn when Angelica falls in love with Medoro, a young man who, in turn, rejects Orlando's attentions. Consumed by jealousy and despair, Orlando loses control of his reason, which leads him to a temporary madness. In his delirium, Orlando becomes a complex and ambiguous character, trapped between the nobility of his character and the irrationality of his emotions. 

The figure of Orlando is central in the work, and Händel's music masterfully captures the protagonist's internal struggle. Throughout the opera, the score explores a wide range of human emotions, from the anguish of despair to the rapture of love. Orlando's arias, such as the famous "Verdi prati", are the perfect vehicle to convey his feelings of suffering and frustration, and Händel's ability to use the human voice as a means to communicate the psyche of his characters is one of the great virtues of the work. 
 
The character of Angelica, for her part, is the engine of the conflict, but her romantic dilemma gives her depth as a character. Despite her love for Medoro, Angelica is a noble figure who, in many moments of the opera, appears as a symbol of virtue and honor. Her music is equally complex and dynamic, with arias that oscillate between sweetness and pain, underlining her struggle between duty and desire. 
 
Another key element in Orlando is the relationship between reason and madness. The work examines how love can upset the human mind, and the character of Orlando becomes a case study on emotional and mental fragility. The music, loaded with ornamentation and complexity, reflects this emotional instability, with arias that go from calm to despair. Händel's ability to create this kind of tension and resolution within the music is one of the reasons why Orlando continues to be a beloved work today. 
 
With rich orchestration and a prominent use of the basso continuo, giving depth to the musical texture, the arias stand out for their virtuosity and complexity, with numerous moments in which the singers demonstrate their technical skill. The work was written for Senesino, a castrato of supernatural abilities, as can be inferred from the varied range of registers that the score demands from its protagonist, especially in the peculiar and extremely demanding "madness scene" that closes the second act. 
  
The "Caro Sassone" was the ambassador of Italian opera in the United Kingdom (in 1711, Rinaldo was the first Italian opera presented in that country). The Handelian style had such a great impact that it exerted a significant influence on the composers of the period and the support of the public. Marc Minkowski, a refined advocate of the Baroque composer, once again leads his ensemble, Les Musiciens du Louvre, to present us with this rich score.