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