Rinaldo

Handel's 1711 opera, the first he composed after settling in England, boasts magnificent music but is extremely difficult to stage, since it is a huge crusading epic—filled with battle scenes and magic—pitting Christian heroes besieging Jerusalem against a wicked sorceress, the queen of Damascus. In this 2011 production from the Glyndebourne Festival, director Robert Carsen solves the staging problem by setting it at an English boys' school, where Rinaldo is a bullied, depressed student who imagines himself raising a force to defeat his tormentors—including the sadistic teachers. The concept works surprisingly well, especially when adopting a cheeky tone—such as Rinaldo soaring aloft on his bicycle, E.T.-style, or a gymnasium depicted as a torture chamber controlled by the dominatrix-clad “queen,” or sparklers set off in a lab to represent magical weapons. Under conductor Ottavio Dantone's vigorous beat, the period-instrument Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment plays crisply and sprightly, and the singing is outstanding across the board, with contralto Sonia Prina (Rinaldo), soprano Brenda Rae (Queen Armida), and countertenor Tim Mead (Rinaldo's friend Eustazio)—in particular—handling the demanding coloratura with incredible aplomb. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include separate interviews with Carsen and Dantone, as well as a cast gallery. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)