If there’s something you never want to wake up to, it’s an email from the opera company announcing that the singer in the title role is out sick and being replaced hours before curtain. I was especially bummed because the originally cast Ariodante was Emily D’Angelo, whom I’d been excited to hear again after seeing her at the Met in 2024’s Grounded, where she did some genuinely impressive singing and acting in an opera I otherwise hated.
However, Grace Durham walked onstage and absolutely crushed this role. If someone told me she’d been the original singer, I’d believe them without hesitation. Her performance had that kind of polish that was confident, expressive, and fully woven into the production.
And what a production! Ariodante is now, without question, my favorite Baroque opera.
The issue with this period of opera (i.e., 1600–1750) is that it consists of one person singing an aria before they leave and another singer coming for the next aria. It can feel extremely stilted (see Handel’s Semele in Atlanta this year or Cavalli’s La Calisto at Glimmerglass last year). Here, despite the score still being aria-after-aria (with four duets sneakily slipped in), it never felt static. The blocking, acting, pacing, and general theatrical intelligence made it feel emotionally fluid, like a Romantic-era opera dressed in Baroque music. Much of the credit clearly belongs to director Jetske Mijnssen. I thought I would be disappointed by the modern set and costumes, but it worked so well; the conceit of the walls of the set closing in over the three acts was perfect.
The singing across the board was excellent. Jacquelyn Stucker was heartbreaking as Ginerva. Her emotional meltdown on stage was never overdone and held the audience in suspense. Elena Villalón was lovely as Dalinda, turning a very unlikable character into someone to root for.
Now, about that ending. As a modern gal who enjoys an art form mostly written hundreds of years ago, I do understand when directors wish to change endings or tone. Sometimes it works (the Met has very appropriately made the title character of Don Giovanni the true villain) and sometimes it does not (the Met’s recent La Sonnambula, I’m looking at you). Here, I’m not entirely convinced the ending fully worked. Nonetheless, it didn’t undo four hours of genuinely delightful opera in Covent Garden.
A special shoutout goes to the two college students sitting next to me so clearly enjoying the opera. I’m in my 30s, but am often one of the younger attendees. Seeing two young women appreciate my favorite art form was great ❤
Opera: Ariodante
Composer: George Frideric Handel
Venue: Royal Ballet & Opera
Date: December 17, 2025
Link: https://www.rbo.org.uk/tickets-and-events/ariodante-jetske-mijnssen-details
Opera Nerd 
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