Handel's Ariodant saw the light of day on the stage of London's newly opened Royal Theater Covent Garden in 1735. The libretto, based on the famous poem by Ludovico Ariosto "Furious Roland", turned out to be devoid of the spectacular transformations and exoticism familiar to operas of that time. The scene was Scotland, and the events and the reaction of the characters to them - preparations for the wedding of the happy lovers Princess Ginevra and Prince Ariodant, interrupted by slander, their separation and suffering, and yet reunion in the final - were so psychologically reliable that they went beyond the accepted in theater of that time etiquette. Queen Caroline, after attending the premiere, wrote: “They say that the opera is so pathetic and gloomy that everyone who visits it is imbued with this impression and returns home upset.”
The story, which seemed too gloomy to the public of the 18th century, sounds modern and exciting in our time. It is no coincidence that now Ariodant is one of the most sought-after baroque operas. The geography of his productions in the last decade alone includes more than 30 European and American cities, including Vienna, Salzburg, London, Stuttgart, Dublin, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, Toronto, Chicago and many others.
In Russia, "Ariodant" was heard only in concert performance. His production on the New Stage (following Rodelinda and Alcina) will be a continuation of the series of Handel's premieres at the Bolshoi Theatre. The appearance of "Ariodant" is expected with particular interest also because it will be directed by the American director David Alden, who is already familiar to the Moscow public. It was he who carried out one of the most successful projects of the Bolshoi Theater - the production of Britten's opera Billy Budd (in co-production with the English National Opera and the Deutsche Oper Berlin), a performance that won the Golden Mask Award in the nominations "Best Performance in Opera" and "Best artist's work" (2018). Conductor Gianluca Capuano, known in Europe for his interpretations of operas from Monteverdi to Rossini and Donizetti, will perform at the Bolshoi Theater for the first time.
