Rinaldo, the first opera Handel presented in London in 1711, continues to enjoy extraordinary success with present-day audiences. Little over two years have passed since the appearance of Hogwood’s version with Bartoli and Daniels, which caused such a stir in the positive sense of the word. Now René Jacobs offers us his very elegant Rinaldo with the Freiburger Barockorchester, a recording that is also to be kept in the treasure trove of our record library. The theme, taken from Jerusalem Delivered, and especially the mysterious and magic sections of Tasso’s masterpiece, perhaps helped to inspire the young Handel to create just that marvellous atmosphere that delights today’s audiences as it did those of the Queen’s Theatre at the beginning of the eighteenth century. In 1711 many other factors contributed to this success: the political aspects of the text, praising England’s colonial expansion and the sounds of the impressive orchestra put at Handel’s disposal. Jacobs appropriately highlights the orchestra and uses all the timbres of the continuo he can. For example, he leaves a special place for Mara Galassi’s triple harp and in the famous sirens’ aria (2, 8) he uses the rhythm of a popular tarantella. The excellent orchestra is matched by an equally superb cast, all of whose members are worthy of mention: Vivica Genaux (Rinaldo), Miah Persson (Almirena), Lawrence Zazzo (Goffredo), Inga Kalna (Armida), James Rutherford (Argante), Christophe Dumaux (Eustazio) and Dominique Visse the magician. DINKO FABRIS