Rinaldo Sees Himself in Ubaldo's Shield

Torquato Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered of 1581, an epic poem about knightly valour, magic, and true love during the Crusades, was an international bestseller, interpreted in opera and in operatic scenes like this. Rinaldo, bewitched by a sorceress, sees his degradation mirrored in his friend's shield. This was one of the Uffizi canvases that Hitler took for his museum at Linz.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 8 minutes): George Frideric Handel: Two arias, Rinaldo, Acts II and III