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.
Isabella Girardeau Isabella Girardeau (née Calliari?; ? – ?) was an Italian operatic soprano who flourished in London, England from 1709 to 1712. Commonly referred to by the opera going public in London as "La Isabella", she is best remembered today for creating the role of Almirena in the momentous premiere of George Frideric Handel's "Rinaldo" on 24 February 1711 at the Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket (it later became the "King's Theatre" after King George I's accession in 1714) in which she introduced the famous aria "Lascia ch'io pianga". She had succeeded Joanna Maria Lindelheim, "The Baroness", as one of the leading sopranos at that theatre. She is said to have had a bitter rivalry with the Queen's other prima donna, the soprano Elisabetta Pilotti-Schiavonetti.