Tuesday Opera: Franz Joseph Haydn – Orlando Paladino – Antal Dorati

Orlando paladino (English: The Paladin Orlando), Hob. 28/11, is an opera in three acts by Joseph Haydn which was first performed at Eszterháza on 6 December 1782. The libretto by Nunziato Porta [it] is based on another libretto, Le pazzie d’Orlando, by Carlo Francesco Badini (set by the composer Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi in 1771), itself inspired by Ariosto‘s epic poem Orlando furioso. The opera was described as a dramma eroicomico and the plot mixes heroic and comic elements. It was Haydn’s most popular opera during his lifetime. While in Prague, Mozart conducted a few performances of the opera. The Pennsylvania Opera Theater presented the United States premiere of the work at the Trocadero Theatre, Philadelphia, in March 1982 with John Gilmore in the title role