London, 1733: Handel has been a star of the opera and the major composer for some fifteen years in the English capital (the largest metropolis in Europe at the time, along with Naples), for which he wrote almost 2 Italian operas a year, which were performed at the Royal Academy of Music, of which he was the director. He started working on a brilliant work reminiscent of his early operas where magic and spectacular elements greatly contributed to the success of performances. To regain this capacity of wonderment, Handel composed Orlando: it was his first grand opera inspired by Orlando Furioso, Ariosto’s famous novel, which inspired many masterpieces, notably by Vivaldi.

Handel was 48, in full possession of his musical capacities, he had started writing the oratorios which placed him again in a central position. Orlando (1733) is a "magic" opera of ingenious inventiveness that places the title role, Orlando, in a succession of situations where his love for Angelica is permanently thwarted, the magician Zoroaster plunging him into scenes of madness that remain famous. A "fantastic" opera, Orlando was a great success at its creation, notably with the performance of the castrato Senesino in the title role. The mad scene, followed by magical sleep at the end of the work, ensured ten triumphant performances. Here Christophe Dumaux will interpret the title role, with the charisma and presence that led him to success from the Metropolitan Opera to the Salzburg Festival!