Riccardo Primo

The ensemble specialising in Baroque and Classical music, Les Arts Florissants, premieres an operatic version of one of George Frideric Handel's great masterpieces at the Teatro Real on 21 October.

The work, unique in the composer's catalogue for being inspired by the figure of an English monarch, is conducted by the Scottish conductor Paul Agnew, with the acclaimed countertenor Jakub Józef Orlinski in the title role. The performance is sung in Italian with surtitles in English and Spanish.

Set in the context of the Third Crusade, the opera presents Richard the Lionheart arriving on the island of Cyprus under a false identity. The English king poses as an ambassador with the aim of rescuing his fiancée, Costanza, whom he has never seen and who has been held by Isacio, the island's tyrannical ruler, after surviving a shipwreck. From that point on, Handel builds a web of deceit, passions and power struggles.

The dramatic tension intensifies when Isacio tries to outwit Richard by sending his own daughter, Pulcheria, to pose as Costanza. The plot becomes even more complicated with the intervention of Oronte, Pulcheria's betrothed, who uncovers the manoeuvre and decides to thwart it before the deception goes too far.

In the denouement, Richard launches the definitive military assault on Cyprus and manages to defeat Isacio, restoring order on the island. After the tyrant's fall, Pulcheria and Oronte are named the new rulers, while Richard can finally be reunited with Costanza. With this new production, the Teatro Real revives a score rarely heard on contemporary stages and offers audiences the opportunity to rediscover an essential piece of the Baroque.