About the work
Rodelinda, Regina de' Longobardi is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. Nicola Francesco Haym adapted the libretto from a text by Antonio Salvi (1710), itself derived from Pierre Corneille's play "Pertharite, roi des Lombards". Handel completed the score on 20 January 1725; the premiere took place on 13 February 1725 at the King's Theatre in London, the third new work he produced within a single year after Giulio Cesare and Tamerlano.
Plot
Believing her exiled husband King Bertarido dead, Rodelinda is pressed by the usurper Grimoaldo to marry him. Bertarido, secretly returned, witnesses his wife's unwavering loyalty before being captured himself and narrowly escaping execution. In the end Grimoaldo recognises his wrongdoing, restores Bertarido's wife, son and throne, and steps down.
Cultural significance
Unusually for Baroque opera, the central couple is already married, giving the work a marital warmth rare for the genre. The premiere was a triumph, running to fourteen performances; in 1920 Rodelinda became the first Handel opera revived in modern times and it remains among the most frequently staged of his works today.