Lotario

Lotario ("Lothair", HWV 26) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Antonio Salvi's Adelaide.The opera was first given at the King's Theatre in London on 2 December 1729.

The story of the opera is a fictionalisation of some events in the life of Holy Roman Empress Adelaide of Italy.

Performance history

Paolo Rolli commented in a letter at the time to Giuseppe Riva that "everyone thinks (Lotario) a very bad opera". There were 10 performances, but it was not repeated. Handel reused pieces in later operas.

As with all Baroque opera seria, Lotario went unperformed for many years, but with the revival of interest in Baroque music and historically informed musical performance since the 1960s,Lotario, like all Handel operas, receives performances at festivals and opera houses today. Among other performances, Lotario was staged at the London Handel Festival in 1999 and by the Handel Festival, Halle in 2004.

Roles

Synopsis