Orchester Purpur (AT)

29.8.2014, Rogaška Slatina, Grand hotel Rogaška

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): Orlando paladino (Hob. XXVIII:11)
Dramma eroicomico in three acts – scenic

Orlando is a knight consumed by wild jealousy after having been crossed by his love interest, a princess by the name of Angelica. Angelica literally loves a loser, a knight called Medoro. There is also Rodomonte, a fighter and king of Barbary, who has a score to settle with Orlando and who is always ready for a fight. So much for the heroic part of the drama, in between acts we also meet Pasquale, Orlando’s funny and cowardly servant, a kind of Sancho Panza, who hilariously directs the action in his unique manner. Only Joseph Haydn, Spiritus Rector of “musikalischer Scherz”, could succeed in attempting this famous libretto in such a sublime manner, all in all “operesque”!