Handel: Rinaldo (DVD) – Raffaele Pe, Carmela Remigio

Composer: George Frideric Handel
Artists: Raffaele Pe, Carmela Remigio, Leonardo Cortellazzi, Francesca Aspromonte, Andrea Patucelli, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Conductor: Federico Maria Sardelli
Director: Pier Luigi Pizzi
Format: NTSC
Language: Italian
Subtitles: Italian, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean
Region: All Regions
Number of Discs: 1
Studio: Dynamic
DVD Release Date: May 21, 2021
Run Time: 131 minutes

George Frideric Handel was one of those rare composers who excelled in works sacred and secular, instrumental and operatic, leaving us extraordinary masterpieces in every field of music. Already renowned in Italy, Handel made himself known in London with Rinaldo in 1711, which was such a success that he decided to remain in England for good. It is still regarded as one of his greatest operas.

Set during the Crusades, Rinaldo is a lavish spectacle that tells a story of love, magic, struggles for power, and ultimate reconciliation. Pier Luigi Pizzi’s acclaimed production, conceived in 1985 for Teatro Romolo Valli in Reggio Emilia, brings us into a “dreamlike, unreal…world of spells and incantations” (Epoca). Discounting practical cuts and a few displacements of musical numbers, its durable attraction lies in the gorgeous costumes and scenery, a stylish paragon of Hyperbaroque eschewing both literalism and cheap provocation.

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