Here is the earliest operatic masterpiece of Nicola Porpora, the Neapolitan composer who left an indelible mark on the 18th century and the careers of its greatest masters, from Hasse, Jommelli and Handel to Joseph Haydn, who was his pupil in Vienna. Against the backcloth of theold Carolingian epic, the valiant knight Roland is transformed into a lover before becoming ‘Orlando furioso’ in this encounter of three mythical figures: Ariosto, Metastasio and Porpora. We run the gamut from epic to tragedy in this vibrant, crackling performance under the inspired direction of Juan Bautista Otero, seconded by the vocal soloists and instrumentalists of the young Real Compañia Opera de Cámara. A major discovery!