Rinaldo is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1711, and was the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London stage. The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario provided by Aaron Hill, and the work was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in London's Haymarket on 24 January 1711. The story of love, battle and redemption set at the time of the First Crusade is loosely based on Torquato Tasso's epic poem Gerusalemme liberata ("Jerusalem Delivered"), and its staging involved many original and vivid effects. It was a great success with the public, despite negative reactions from literary critics hostile to the contemporary trend towards Italian entertainment in English theatres. Rinaldo was the most frequently performed during Handel's lifetime. However, after 1731 the opera was not staged for more than 200 years. Following a successful run at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1984, performances and recordings of the work have become more frequent worldwide. Despite the lack of a standard edition, with its spectacular vocal and orchestral passages Rinaldo has been cited as one of Handel's greatest operas. Of its individual numbers the soprano aria "Lascia ch'io pianga" has become a particular favourite and is a popular concert piece.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

138:

Roman Emperor Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius as his son and successor, after the death of his first adopted son Lucius Aelius. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoninus_Pius

1570:

Pope Pius V issued the papal bull Regnans in Excelsis to excommunicate Queen Elizabeth I and her followers in the Church of England. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regnans_in_Excelsis

1870:

Representing Mississippi in the Senate, Hiram Rhodes Revels became the first African American to serve in the United States Congress. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Rhodes_Revels

1956:

In his speech On the Personality Cult and its Consequences to the 20th Party Congress, Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced the personality cult and dictatorship of his predecessor Joseph Stalin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Personality_Cult_and_its_Consequences

1994:

Israeli physician Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Muslim Arabs praying at the mosque in Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs, killing 29 people and wounding 125 others. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_the_Patriarchs_massacre

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

anile (adj): Characteristic of a crone or a feeble old woman http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anile

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

When the state murders, it assumes an authority I refuse to concede: the authority of perfect knowledge in final things. --John Leonard (critic) http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Leonard_%28critic%29