Performed concert-style in the original Italian, with a running narrative. the scene is the Holy Land, the time approximately 1,000 A. D. The Christians have long been slugging it out with the misguided infidel who are perversely holding on to the prized city of Jerusalem. Surely one final heroic effort will bring about the hard won victory, putting the sacred city back where it belongs, in the hands of the true believers. Among the Christians, hope runs high, based entirely on Rinaldo, a young soldier of spectacular prowess, whose ferocity on the field is legendary.
Meet the opposition: Argante, King of Jerusalem, who rides in typically borne on a triumphal carriage drawn by Arab horses. He is abetted by Armida,
Queen of Damascus, a sorceress famed alike for her beauty, her magic, and her total lack of scruple. Her favored vehicle is a flying chariot drawn by winged dragons from whose nostrils issue fire and smoke. These two are clearly up to no good. Their intent: to put Rinaldo out of action.
Caught between the two sides, Almirena, the beautiful heroine loved by Rinaldo, is soon kidnapped by a horde of ugly monsters riding on a black cloud. No doubt the handywork of Armida.
Rinaldo to the rescue! A hostage on the verge of instant death, the hapless captive is saved by Rinaldo with the help of a
friendly magician whose wand is even more powerful than Armida's. Rinaldo is once more able to turn his full attention to
the coming battle, where he is in his glorious element, while Argante and Armida muster their troops, no less confident of victory.
Sure enough the crucial, decisive battle takes place. After which, you will be pleased to know, the opera ends happily,
with what appears to be a permanent solution of the Middle Eastern conflict.
Though permeated through and through with magic -- transformations, disappearances, cataclysms, and much more -- the opera's real magic lies in the music, where Handel once again is at his supreme, sublime, awe-inspiring best.
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