Richly scored and tightly plotted, an all-star cast brings to life one of Handel’s finest operas, Ariodante.

Following her stunning appearance in Alcina in 2014, the latest instalment in our Handel opera series sees the return of Joyce DiDonato in the title role. Marking 500 years since the publication of Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando furioso, a tale of knights and entangled love, Ariodante stands as Handel’s final opera on the subject after Alcina and Orlando.

‘Through it all, Bicket and The English Concert were nothing short of brilliant. Sporting perfectly tight ensemble, spacious and ringing tone, a variety of colors, gleaming strings and clean, forceful brass, they are the model of a period chamber orchestra in every sense. In stark contrast to the common failing of anemic-sounding historical ensembles, it was no trouble at all for them to summon up ferocious power for dramatic effect, and then cool off with aching sighs.’ – New York Classical Review