Rinaldo was the beginning of his London success

Rinaldo is a 1711 opera written by George Frideric Handel that was the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London stage.

Handel wrote Rinaldo quickly, borrowing and adapting music from operas and other works he wrote during a long stay in Italy from 1706 to 1710, during which he established a significant reputation. He made numerous changes to the score in the years following the premiere. Critics consider Rinaldo to be one of Handel's greatest operas. The soprano aria "Lascia ch'io pianga" has become a particular favorite, and it is a popular concert piece.

When he moved to London, Handel rose quickly to prominence, and he became the people's favorite composer in no time. In 1711, he wrote the first opera in Italian for the London stage. This proved to be the hit that cemented his place in the hearts of the English nobility. Handel went on to dominate English opera for several decades. Rinaldo was revived in London regularly basis until 1717, and in a revised version in 1731; Rinaldo was the most frequently performed of Handel's operas during his lifetime. However, the opera was not performed for more than 200 years after 1731. The revival of interest in baroque opera in the twentieth century resulted in the first modern professional production in Handel's birthplace, Halle, Germany, in 1954. The opera was staged infrequently for the next thirty years, but after a successful run at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1984, performances and recordings of the work became more common around the world. Rinaldo was the first Handel opera to be staged at the Metropolitan. The Glyndebourne Festival celebrated the opera's tercentenary in 2011 with a modernized production.