"As Rinaldo, Teresa Iervolino seizes the advantage of being the only singer of Handel's original arias, storming recklessly through her coloratura to thrilling effect ... Other soloists manoeuvre deftly to add interest to their thinner scores ... The production, by stage director Giorgio Sangati ... work against both score and the sensitivity of conductor Fabio Luisi ... Soloists perform major arias in darkness, sets are static, and the slow-motion fencing of the final battle looks like amateur dramatics ... Indeed this performance may have been better served by sound recording only"