Orlandini is certainly one of the most influential and important composers of baroque opera, considered one of the finest composers of his day, a key figure in the creation of modern baroque opera in Venice and a model for Händel who freely borrowed from his many works. When Orkester Nord and Martin Wåhlberg here wanted to highlight Orlandini’s masterful art as opera composer, the choice fell on Arsace. A real work of highly dense drama, telling the fatal story of Queen Elizabeth I of England, and her lover Robert Devereux, the 2nd Earl of Essex. Building on French dramatist Corneille’s version, this Italian text places the action in a distant Persia, thus allowing for poetic freedom. Uniting a stellar cast with amazing mezzo Ann Hallenberg as Statira (the Queen), it is a major work of the history of baroque opera which is here brought to life.