Which opera seria by Handel was created first, Orlando or Alcina?
Orlando (opera) Orlando (HWV 31) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel written for the King's Theatre in London in 1733. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's "L'Orlando" after Ludovico Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso", which was also the source of Handel's operas "Alcina" and "Ariodante". More an artistic than a popular success at its first performances, "Orlando" is today recognised as a masterpiece.
Abele (Alfieri) Abele is an Italian opera inspired on the first Bible's chapters by Vittorio Alfieri (1749–1803) which he described as a tramelogedia. It was written in 1786 and first published after Alfieri's death in 1804 in London. The play's characters can be divided in two groups: