Rodelinda

George Frideric Handel

Rodelinda

Mar 11 - Mar 27

This Production is in the past

A model of virtuosity and versatility, soprano Elza van den Heever further expands her Met repertoire, adding the noble heroine of Handel’s grand Baroque drama Rodelinda. Harry Bicket, a champion of the composer’s operas, takes the podium to conduct the Met’s moving production, which also stars mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, countertenors Iestyn Davies and Anthony Roth Costanzo, tenor Paul Appleby, and bass-baritone Adam Plachetka.

Due to scheduling challenges caused by the pandemic, the performance of Rodelinda planned for March 31, 2022, has been canceled. The value of any tickets purchased to this performance will be credited to your Met Opera account. For more information, please call Met Customer Care at 212.362.6000.

All audience members must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and wear face masks at all times inside the Met, except when eating or drinking in designated areas. For more information on health and safety policies, visit our commitment page.

Production a gift of John Van Meter

Additional funding from Mercedes and Sid Bass, and the Hermione Foundation

Revival a gift of C. Graham Berwind, III

Read Synopsis Read Program

Sung In

Italian

Met Titles In

  • English
  • German
  • Spanish
  • Italian

Estimated Run Time

4 hrs

  • House Opens

  • Act I

    60 mins

  • Intermission

    35 mins

  • Act II

    60 mins

  • Intermission

    30 mins

  • Act III

    55 mins

  • Opera Ends

Cast

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TBA

Performing

Performed

All Dates

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Rodelinda

World premiere: King’s Theatre, London, 1725
One of Handel’s most successful operas in its day and one of his most highly regarded in recent times, Rodelinda is an involving, taut, and remarkably modern drama. Much of its power lies in the appeal of its protagonist, a realistic portrait of a woman rather than an allegorical type, and every character is driven by dramatically credible motivations and the human emotions that accompany them, all masterfully captured in Handel’s music, by turns subtle and bold.

Creators

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) was born in Germany, trained extensively in the music capitals of Italy, and spent most of his brilliant career in London. While his great choral and orchestral works—most notably Messiah and the Music for the Royal Fireworks—have remained extraordinarily popular for, his operatic creations only found renewed appreciation in the mid-20th century. Nicola Francesco Haym (1678–1729) was a librettist as well as a theater manager, cellist, and composer in his own right, He wrote the libretti for several of Handel’s greatest operas, including Tamerlano and Giulio Cesare.

PRODUCTION

Stephen Wadsworth

Set Designer

Thomas Lynch

COSTUME DESIGNER

Martin Pakledinaz

LIGHTING DESIGNER

Peter Kaczorowski

George Frideric Handel

Composer

George Frideric Handel

Setting

Rodelinda

The story takes place in and around Milan, the capital of the northern Italian kingdom of Lombardy. Stephen Wadsworth’s Met production moves the action from its original early-medieval setting in the seventh century to Handel’s own time.

Music

The orchestra for Rodelinda, as for Baroque opera in general, is quite small by today’s standards—a total of 40 instrumentalists, including recorders, theorbo (a specific kind of bass lute), and harpsichord. Handel creates remarkable effects with this ensemble, both independently and as accompaniment for the singers. According to the dramatic conventions of 18th-century opera seria, action and plot development are found in the harpsichord-accompanied recitatives, while virtuosic solo arias are the primary mode of emotional expression.

Rodelinda