In 2009, 250 years will have passed since the death of the great master of Baroque Opera, Georg Friedrich Händel. To mark this anniversary, we will stage his “serious opera” (opera seria) Rinaldo, which is one of the many musical settings of Tasso’s Renaissance epic poem Jerusalem Delivered. Unlike other versions of this theme, Händel’s work does not take the route of stories of “forbidden love” between a Christian man and a Muslim woman; it rather resembles, albeit distantly, the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice – Armida abducts the Knight Rinaldo’s fiancée Almirena, and Rinaldo subsequently embarks upon a perilous journey to set her free. A host of pitfalls, spells and, above all, the wild and passionate Armida, who falls in love with him, await him. The action of Händel’s opera requires a number of fantastic sceneries and theatre effects. The audience will thus have the opportunity to experience at the Estates Theatre a performance aimed at evoking the poetic atmosphere of the bygone glory of Baroque Opera. Händel’s opera Rinaldo has never before been staged at the National Theatre.

Co-production of the National Theatre Prague, Le Théâtre de Caen, L´Opéra de Rennes and Le Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg. The production is originating with the kind support of the French Institute in Prague.

Musical preparation: Václav Luks
Conductor: Václav Luks
Director: Louise Moaty
Stage design: Adéline Caron
Costumes: Alain Blanchot
Lights: Christophe Naillet
Choreography: Françoise Denieau
Dramaturgy: Beno Blachut

Appearing:
Goffredo: Stanislava Jirků
Almirena: Kateřina Kněžíková
Rinaldo: Diana Moore
Eustazio: Markéta Cukrová
Argante: Adam Plachetka
Armida: Marie Fajtová
Mago: David Nykl
Araldo: David Nykl
Sirena: Stanislava Mihalcová
Sirena: Andrea Brožáková