Zorro Garden in Balboa Park (Verdi prati)

Zorro Garden at Balboa Park in San Diego, California. This sunken stone garden was a nudist colony during the 1935 California - Pacific International Exposition. Now it is a butterfly garden tugged between Ruben H Fleet Science Center and the Casa de Balboa on toward the east end of Del Prado.

Music is the aria 'Verdi prati, selve amene' from Georg Handel's opera, Alcina. Ruggiero finally realizes that he had been under Alcina's sorcerous spell and now laments at how awakening from her influence means that the beautifully magically created garden of Alcina's court must revert to its original horrible waste land.

From a live broadcast of a performance of the opera in Munich 2005. Vesselina Kasarova (Ruggiero). Ivor Bolton conducts the Munich Radio Orchestra.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• san diego
• balboa park
• zoro garden
• stone garden
• opera
• alcina
• handel
• ruggiero
• verdi prati
• vesselina
• kasarova
• katsarova

[HM0880]

Really lovely video, Smorg. Thanks for the translation, too; understanding the words always helps!