„Ariodante” was the first  work which Handel composed for the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden after his contract with the King’s Theatre, Haymarket ran out in mid-1734. “<br>
 „Ariodante” stands out  amongst Handel’s opera works by means of its combination of excellent and  challenging music  coupled with a first-class plot. There is probably no other Handel opera which  contains such a  wealth of striking and catchy arias as are found in the first act of “  Ariodante ” alone. The three  wide-ranging arias composed for the castrato  Carestini  are amongst the greatest bravura pieces.<br>
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 The plot is based on an episode in Ariosto’s epic “  Orlando  furioso ” (1516). The central event of  the drama, the trick with which Duke  Polinesso  convinces his commander  Ariodante  that  Ginevra  is unfaithful, was also used by Shakespeare in “Much Ado  About  Nothing”.<br>
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