„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. “
„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.

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”.