The success story of Ariosto’s epic poem Orlando furioso runs through the concert like a silver thread. With its 46,000 lines, one of the greatest works of European Renaissance literature was born. The Italian countertenor Filippo Mineccia has compiled an interesting foray through the different Orlando settings focusing on the figure of “raging Roland” himself, with arias from operas by composers including Steffani, Vivaldi, Porpora, Handel and Wagenseil, in which he presents all the facets of his voice with creative bravura. “Mineccia’s warm and sometimes yearning voice lends great conviction to the sad emotions (as in Vivaldi, for example). In arias of rage, countertenors often find their limits, for which they have to compensate with pressure. We find none of this with Mineccia: he masters top notes, changes of register and even the low register effortlessly and seamlessly” (Fono Forum, February 2021). This exceptional singer, who has already delighted festival audiences in Halle on several occasions, will be accompanied in especially colourful and lively manner by The New Baroque Times ensemble.