GF Handel - Rinaldo "Cara sposa" Andreas Scholl video

George Frideric Handel Rinaldo, HWV 7 "Cara sposa" Rinaldo's aria from act I, sc.7 Premiere Cast, February 24, 1711: Rinaldo: Nicolo Grimaldi, castrato Eustazio: Valentino Urbani, castrato Armida: Elisabetta Pilotti-Schiavonetti, soprano Almirena: Isabella Girardeau, soprano Goffredo: Francesca Vanini-Boschi, contralto Argante: Giuseppe Boschi, bass In this video: Andreas Scholl, countertenor Accademia Bizantina Direction: Ottavio Dantone Live performance from Festival de Musique de Dresde, 12 May, 2008 Rinaldo sings this aria after his fiancee Almirena is abducted by the sorceress Armida. "Rinaldo was first produced at the Queen's (later King's) Theatre in the Haymarket on 24 February 1711. It was Handel's first opera for London, and also the first Italian opera specifically composed for the London stage. The concept of opera as a wholly sung musical drama was still new in Britain, and through the first successful production was an English version of Giovanni Bononcini's Camilla in 1706, the popularity of Italian singers — especially the sensational castrati — swiftly established opera in the Italian language as the standard form. ... Synopsis The action is set at the time of the First Crusade (1096--99). Christian forces led by Goffredo (Godfrey of Bouillon) are laying siege to the city of Jerusalem, held by the Saracen king Argante. With Goffredo are his brother Eustazio and his daughter Almirena, who is in love with the Christian knight Rinaldo. Argante is supported ...