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Floridante


Floridante (HWV 14) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was by Paolo Antonio Rolli after Francesco Silvani's libretto for Marc'Antonio Ziani dramma per musica La costanza in trionfo of 1696.

The opera was first given at the King's Theatre in London on 9 December 1721 and was a success with audiences, being revived by Handel in several subsequent seasons. The plot involves dynastic struggles and love tangles in a fictionalised Ancient Persia and is notable for an exceptionally beautiful duet,"Ah, mia cara."

The German-born Handel, after spending some of his early career composing operas and other pieces in Italy, settled in London, where in 1711 he had brought Italian opera for the first time with his opera Rinaldo. A tremendous success, Rinaldo created a craze in London for Italian opera seria, a form focused overwhelmingly on solo arias for the star virtuoso singers. In 1719, Handel was appointed music director of an organisation called the Royal Academy of Music (unconnected with the present day London conservatoire), a company under royal charter to produce Italian operas in London. Handel was not only to compose operas for the company but hire the star singers, supervise the orchestra and musicians, and adapt operas from Italy for London performance.

Years before the action begins, Persian general Oronte had staged a coup, murdered the king, seized the throne himself and adopted the slain king's baby daughter, Elisa, bringing her up as his own daughter under the name Elmira by the side of his real daughter Rossane. Now the girls are of marriageable age, Elmira has been betrothed to Prince Floridante, a leader of Oronte's armies, and Rossane is to be married to a prince of a nearby kingdom, Timante, Prince of Tyre. However, Oronte has fallen in love with his adopted daughter himself and no longer wishes her to marry Floridante, and Tyre and Persia have gone to war, so Rossane's wedding to Timante (whom she has never met, the marriage having been arranged for reasons of diplomacy) is also looking unlikely.

Floridante returns from battle, where he has just won a glorious victory over Tyre, and is greeted by the royal sisters (as they believe) Elmira and Rossane. Rossane, who has been upset because of the cancellation of her marriage to Timante, now at war with Persia, is presented by Floridante with a Tyrian captive from the battle, by name of Gilcore, who is actually none other than Timante in disguise. A letter from King Oronte is delivered to Floridante, which, much to the consternation of all assembled, orders him to leave the country immediately.


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