Ariodante | Haendel

Ariodante, Handel's most challenging opera: William Christie and Les Arts Florissants rediscover the eloquence, vitality and irresistible beauty of this Baroque masterpiece, with the dazzling Lea Desandre in the title role of the betrayed knight.

August 1734: after several years of conquering the London public, Handel faced formidable competition from a new company that took all his operatic stars. The composer created Ariodante, a story of thwarted love in the heart of medieval Scotland, alternating between lies, madness, suicidal blindness and chivalrous tournaments. To win back the public's favour, Handel wrote what was to become one of his most accomplished operas: arias vibrant with emotion, unprecedented colours and sumptuous, virtuoso instrumental parts that captivated listeners past and present. As a visionary historian and painter of the most subtle feelings, William Christie is surrounded by young soloists who have graduated from the Jardin des Voix, the international academy of Les Arts Florissants, in a staging by Nicolas Briançon.