site.btaHandel's Baroque Opera "Amadigi di Gaula" to Be Staged in Sofia Oct. 12

Handel's Baroque opera Amadigi di Gaula will be presented at the Sofia Opera and Ballet House (SOBH) on October 12, and a children's version of it will be performed on October 29, SOBH said. It is a "magic story" full of dramatic twists and fantastic digital imagery. The enchanting music is played on instruments of the era by the Ars Barocca Festival Orchestra with concertmaster Zefira Valova. The show is part of the 17th Ars Barocca Festival.

The international cast includes Rafal Tomkiewicz (countertenor), who will appear as the hero Amadigi, Carlotta Colombo (soprano) as the sorceress Melissa, Rumyana Kostova (soprano) as Princess Oriana, and Margherita Maria Sala (contralto) as Dardano, the Prince of Thrace.

Amadigi di Gaula (Amadis of Gaul) was the fifth Italian opera that George Frideric Handel wrote for an English theatre. It was the hit of the 1715 London season, brimming over with some of the young composer's most imaginative and enjoyable music. The libretto is about the love of the noble Amadigi for the beautiful Oriana. With a jealous sorceress in the frame, the course of their true love never runs smooth.