ORLANDO PALADINO

Concert Version

With more than a dozen operas, Haydn, one of the fundamental composers in the history of music, has been practically absent from the programming of opera houses. In this case, Giovanni Antonini, who is recording the complete works of Haydn, will immerse us in Orlando paladino, an opera in three acts, which was the composer’s most important operatic success.

Sometimes missteps lead to masterpieces. When Grand Duke Paul of Russia and his wife announce their arrival at the palace of Esterháza, Prince Esterházy commissions an opera from his official composer, Franz Joseph Haydn, to lavishly welcome their guests. But the princely couple decided on a different itinerary. This semi-parody is based on Ariosto’s epic poem Orlando furioso, which also shaped the eponymous score by Lully (Roland), Vivaldi (Orlando furioso) and Händel (Alcina). The plot of dramma eroicomico centres on a noble couple – Angelica, Queen of Cathay, and her lover Medoro – who flee to a remote castle to escape Orlando, Paladin of France, who is madly in love with Angelica. Angelica asks the magician Alcina for help.

As might be expected, the music to unify the dramatic action of epic adventure and love games is inspired, clear, witty, robust and always inventive; its mixture of chivalrous, supernatural elements combined with the farce itself anticipates Mozart’s own Don Giovanni Haydn merges pathos and irony, sincere sentiment with parody, heroes with cowardice and madness with calm, thus confusing listeners, who can no longer distinguish the good guys from the bad. A miracle that makes Orlando paladino one of the finest operas of the 18th century.

Em Ke Bar Th

Soprano. She began her musical training studying piano and harp. She began singing at the age of 18 with József Hormai and Katalin

Szőke and later with Júlia Pászthy at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. Recent projects include two recordings with Philippe Jaroussky. This is her debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

Josh Lovell

Tenor. He was the winner of the 39th Hans Gabor Belvedere International Singing Competition and a member of the Wiener Staatsoper ensemble. His engagements for this season include his debut at the Teatre alla Scala in Milan as Ferdinand (The Tempest) by Thomas Adès. He has recently substituted for a colleague in Der Rosenkavalier at the Bayerische Staatsoper. This is his debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

N Ria Rial

Soprano. With a career centred on concerts and records (she has released more than 30 albums and is an exclusive SONY artist), her interests also include contemporary music, jazz or flamenco fusion and opera. Trained in Basel with Kurt Widmar, she regularly performs at festivals in Salzburg, Lucerne and Leipzig. This is her debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

Giovanni Antonini

Conductor. Born in Milan, he studied at the Civica Scuola di Musica and at the Centre de Musique Ancienne in Geneva. He is a founding member of the baroque ensemble Il Giardino Armonico, which he has conducted since 1989. He has performed as a conductor and soloist on recorder and baroque flute with this ensemble. He is artistic director of the Wratislavia Cantans Festival in Poland and principal guest conductor of the Mozarteum Orchester and Kammerorchester Basel. This is his debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu.