and methods" of Christoph Willibald Gluck in this opera, and how the opera's overture alone encapsulates the opera's plot in purely instrumental terms. Haydn's music for the opera also contains occasional echoes of Sarti's Giulio Sabino, played at Esterháza in 1783. Recordings 1978 – Jessye Norman (Armida), Claes H. Ahnsjö (Rinaldo), Norma Burrowes (Zelmira), Samuel Ramey (Idreno), Robin Leggate (Ubaldo), Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Clotarco) – Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Antal Doráti – 2 CDs (Philips Records) 2000 - Cecilia Bartoli (Armida), Christoph Prégardien (Rinaldo), Patricia Petibon (Zelmira), Oliver Widmer (Idreno), Scot Weir (Ubaldo), Markus Schäfer (Clotarco) – Concentus Musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt – 2 CDs (Teldec) References External links John A. Rice, "Sarti's Giulio Sabino, Haydn's Armida, and the Arrival of Opera Seria at Eszterháza" Operas Italian-language operas 1784 operas Operas by Joseph Haydn Operas based on works by Torquato Tasso Operas set in the Levant