During the First Crusade, the sorceress Armida lures the Christian knight Rinaldo to her enchanted island, where she holds him captive with a love spell. When his fellow crusaders arrive to rescue him, Rinaldo is torn between his duty to God and his passion for Armida. Rossini's virtuosic opera, based on Tasso's epic poem Jerusalem Delivered, features some of the most demanding tenor writing in the bel canto repertoire, culminating in Armida's furious destruction of her own magical realm.
Captured performances available to watch