Claus Guths exciting 2017 staging of Handels Rodelinda at Madrids Teatro Real featuring Lucy Crowe and Bejun Mehta as Rodelinda and Bertarido with conductor Ivor Bolton After the successes of Giulio Cesare in 1723 and Tamerlano in 1724 Rodelinda completes the trilogy of Handels great opera seria masterpieces The work was composed in 1725 using Nicola Francesco Hayms libretto a work inspired by Antonio Salvis earlier libretto which had been itself adapted from Pierre Corneilles tragedy Pertharite roi des Lombards Rodelinda thus brought one of the most glorious compositional periods in the Handels career to a close about a decade after his arrival in the British capital Mixing romantic storytelling and political intrigue Handel produced one of his most beautiful scores a true operatic tour de force
