Roles
| Role (in singing order) |
Voice type (1711) |
Notes | Premiere cast, 24 February 1711 Conductor: |
Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goffredo: leader of the First Crusade. 1096–99 | contralto | Tenor after 1731 revision | Francesca Vanini-Boschi | |
| Rinaldo: a nobleman of the House of Este | alto castrato | Now often sung by a mezzo-soprano or countertenor | Nicolo Grimaldi ("Nicolini") | |
| Almirena: daughter of Goffredo | soprano | Isabella Girardeau | ||
| Eustazio: brother to Goffredo | alto castrato | This part was eliminated before the 1717 revival, and is often omitted from modern productions | Valentino Urbani ("Valentini") | |
| A herald | tenor | Bass in 1731 revival | "Lawrence" | |
| Argante: Saracen king of Jerusalem | bass | Contralto in 1731 revival, now usually bass | Giuseppe Boschi | |
| Armida: Queen of Damascus, Argante's mistress | soprano | Contralto in 1731 revival, now usually soprano | Elisabetta Pilotti-Schiavonetti | |
| Two mermaids | sopranos | Not recorded | ||
| A woman | soprano | In some productions the woman's lines are sung by a mermaid | Not recorded | |
| A Christian magician | alto castrato | Bass from 1731 revival | Giuseppe Cassani | |
| Mermaids, spirits, fairies, officers, guards, attendants | Non-singing parts |
Read more about this topic: Rinaldo (opera)
Famous quotes containing the word roles:
“Modern women are squeezed between the devil and the deep blue sea, and there are no lifeboats out there in the form of public policies designed to help these women combine their roles as mothers and as workers.”
—Sylvia Ann Hewitt (20th century)
“There is a striking dichotomy between the behavior of many women in their lives at work and in their lives as mothers. Many of the same women who are battling stereotypes on the job, who are up against unspoken assumptions about the roles of men and women, seem to accept—and in their acceptance seem to reinforce—these roles at home with both their sons and their daughters.”
—Ellen Lewis (20th century)
“It was always the work that was the gyroscope in my life. I don’t know who could have lived with me. As an architect you’re absolutely devoured. A woman’s cast in a lot of roles and a man isn’t. I couldn’t be an architect and be a wife and mother.”
—Eleanore Kendall Pettersen (b. 1916)