Orlando

About

Orlando doesn’t simply chart a man’s descent into, and recovery from, madness; it encapsulates what it means to be human. In a mythical world of spirits and heroes, broken-hearted young warrior Orlando descends into madness and violence when he is rejected by Princess Angelica, in favour of another man. With the magical intervention of Zoroastro the Wizard, Angelica’s life is saved, and Orlando’s mind can finally be at peace again. Very few composers understand the human condition as profoundly as Handel. Through transcendentally beautiful music Handel affirms that for there to be joy in our lives, there must also be pain. Harry Fehr’s acclaimed staging updates Handel’s original setting to a private hospital in wartime London. As Orlando breaks down in Act Two, deadly bombers fill the sky as the Blitz begins. Fehr’s production creates complex, fully rounded characters in a world that feels deep and real.