The “magic” opera Orlando (1733) is among Handel’s most beguiling stage works. Its libretto is based on a story from Ariosto’s Orlando furioso: the benign magician Zoroastro is determined to save the Christian knight Orlando from his unreasonable and dishonourable obsession with the Princess Angelica, and restore him to his right mind so that he will instead do his duty. Meanwhile, the shepherdess Dorinda loves the Moorish knight Medoro, but she and Orlando are both destined to be disappointed and frustrated by Angelica and Medoro falling head over heels in love with each other. Although Handel’s music and the libretto hint that Angelica and Medoro’s conduct is far from admirable in their selfish use of others in order to achieve their own ends, the outstanding music and excellent libretto make it clear that the drama is supposed to be a magical and pastoral delight.

Alas, Jens-Daniel Herzog has other pretensions. Claustrophobically set entirely inside a once-elegant house that has been turned into some sort of military field hospital, perhaps during the First World War, Dr Zoroastro is sinisterly intent on brainwashing Orlando into the perfect killing machine, “cured” of tender and individual emotions. Dorinda, Medoro and Angelica here persistently fondle each other’s erogenous zones, and behave in a sneering, dislikeable manner. The conceptual distortion is travesty enough, but not even the singing can redeem matters. Marijana Mijanovic´’s acting is stilted and she can barely sing a phrase idiomatically or in tune. Most other singers fare no better; only Konstantin Wolff emerges with all-round credit. It seems as if the insensitive and charmless staging encourages the singers’ musical interpretation to deteriorate into the same miserable mire. It does not help that Herzog wants moments such as the trio at the end of Act 1 to cut brutally against the grain of what the music should express (rather than trusting Handel’s gentle affection for the situation, there is a misguided attempt at petulant anguish and contention). Despite the good playing of La Scintilla under the expert direction of William Christie, this is a pretty decisive advert for listening to Orlando on CD instead.