Sean Rafferty presents the first opera by Vivaldi ever performed at the Royal Opera House in London, a co-production with Irish National Opera featuring the Irish Baroque Orchestra and their artistic director Peter Whelan, with stage direction by Adele Thomas. The brutal conqueror Tamerlano has crushed the Ottoman Emperor Bajazet and imprisoned him in his own palace. But now Tamerlano has fallen for Bajazet’s traumatised daughter Asteria – to the horror of both Asteria’s admirer, the Greek Prince Andronico, and Tamerlano’s intended bride Irene, Princess of Trebizond. Enjoy the adrenalin rush of the instrumentally virtuosic vocal writing and show-stopping arias performed by a cast including Gianluca Margheri as Bajazet, countertenor Francesco Giusti singing Tamerlano, contralto Niamh O’Sullivan is Asteria, counterteno Eric Jurenas is the Greek prince Andronicus, Rachel Kelly sings the role of Irene, soprano Aoife Miskelly as Idaspe and the Irish Baroque Orchestra conducted by Peter Whelan in this Oliver Award winning production (winner of the Outstanding achievement in Opera)
RTÉ lyric fm, Saturday 18th June, 7pm-10pm