Riccardo Primo

Riccardo Primo

Riccardo primo, re d’Inghilterra (Richard the First, King of England; HWV 23) is an opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music (1719) by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was by Paolo Antonio Rolli, after Francesco Briani's Isacio tiranno, set by Antonio Lotti in 1710. Handel wrote the work for the Royal Academy's 1726/1727 opera season, and also as homage to the newly crowned George II and the nation where Handel had just received citizenship.