Large theater thwarts intimate baroque
A lesser-known baroque opera took over the S.F. Opera Sunday, offering first-rate stage direction and conducting while falling short of vocal expectations. Handel’s “Orlando” (1733) is a fictional love story inspired by Charlemagne’s eighth-century military leader Roland, one that took 238 years to reach US shores. It had ridden high during London’s craze for Italian opera, though its modest dimensions don’t fit expansively into the huge Opera House. This intimate chamber opera boasts a string orchestra and cast of five,…