Händel's ALCINA. A Magical Opera From A Magical Story Sep 28 '07 (Updated Dec 13 '07)    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Music Jersey Boys [Original Broadway Cast Recording] by Original Broadway Cast From $8 Mai by Eri Sugai From $4 The Bottom Line One of Händel's most popular opera for good reasons. A famous story put to magically beautiful and dramatic music by the master of melody. And lots of good recordings! Georg Friedrich Händel’s ALCINA. An opera in 3 Acts. “Too late I learn of her inconstancy. She loves, or she loves not, as suits her book. Scarcely two months had passed, I think, ere she, As was her whim, another lover took And from all confidence excluded me With many an unfriendly word and look. I later learned that she had like wise thwarted A thousand others by whom she’d been courted. And, lest her disappointed lovers spread Report of this lascivious life of hers, She plants them in a very different bed, Converting them to palm-trees or to firs, Or olive-trees, or cedars, or instead, The lesser status of a bush confers, Or turns them into animals or streams, Or any form that pleasing to her seems. Now you, who by some unaccustomed way Have traveled to this isle of doom, my lord, On your account some wretched lover may Be changed to stone or water at her word. On you Alcina will devolve her sway, And bliss beyond all mortal joy award; But, be advised, the time must surely come When rock or tree or fountain you become.” . -Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, Canto VI, 50-52 (translated by Barbara Reynolds) This 1735 opera by Georg Friedrich Händel (based on the 6th and 7th cantos of Ariosto’s 1532 epic poem Orlando Furioso) is now one of the most performed baroque opera at major opera houses around the world, thanks to the recent rise in appreciation of Baroque opera. This is lucky for us, since the work features some of the most beautiful music for the lead roles that Händel ever wrote. The libretto (text) by an unknown author is the same that was used by Riccardo Broschi for his opera, L’isola d’Alcina. Superficially, the story is a rather absurd fantasy of how Ruggiero, a Saracen knight, is rescued from his enchanted captivity (by a powerful love-spell) from the island of the sorceress Alcina by his fiancée, Bradamante. But the real star of the show is actually Alcina... and the real story is of how this formerly prowess sorceress is destroyed by love. CAST: Alcina (A sorceress, ruler of her barren island) .....soprano Morgana (her sorceress sister).....soprano Oronte (Alcina’s general, Morgana’s fiancé).....tenor Ruggiero (A Saracen knight, Alcina’s current lover/victim).....mezzo soprano Bradamante/Ricciardo (Ruggiero’s female warrior fiancée).....mezzo soprano Melisso/Atlante (Bradamante’s magical advisor).....bass Oberto (A boy looking for his dad on the island).....soprano SYNOPSIS: Act I On the enchanted island of Alcina (it is barren in reality, but enchanted to seem lush and beautiful... and full of trees and animals that are actually Alcina’s ex-lovers, transfigured to prevent them from escaping to publish tell-all-books about her love life), the female warrior Bradamante and the magician Melisso arrive looking for her wayward fiancé Ruggiero. Bradamante is in disguised as her twin brother, Ricciardo. That proves problematic the moment they are greeted by Alcina’s flirty sister, Morgana, who takes a definite shine to him(her) (aria, ‘O s’apre al riso’). Morgana brings the newcomers to the palace, where they get to witness just how strong a love spell Alcina had cast on Ruggiero. He doesn’t even recognize his own fiancée, and is actually jealous of 'Ricciardo' for receiving such a warm welcome by his prima donna (aria, ‘Di, cor mio, quanto t’amai’). The two ‘rescuers’ also meet Oberto, a young boy who is searching for his father (aria, ‘Chi m’insegna il caro padre?’). After their confrontation with the jealous General Oronte, Morgana’s fiancé (aria, ‘È gelosia, forza è d’amore’), the General warns Ruggiero of Alcina’s rather alarming habit of transforming her ex-lovers into trees, animals, and other artefacts strewing around the island (aria, ‘Semplicetto A donna credi?’). The hot-headed knight then resolves to persuade his beloved sorceress to transform ‘Ricciardo’ into a potted plant (or some such) as a token of her love for him. Fortunately for Bradamante/Ricciardo, Morgana overhears the plan and warns her new heart-throb off (aria, ‘Tornami a vagheggiar’). Act II Melisso turns himself into Atlante, Ruggiero’s old mentor, uses a magic ring to show the spell-bounded knight that Alcina’s island is actually a barren desert, and commanding him to get the sorceress’ permission to go hunting (aria, ‘Mio bel tesoro’), as a part of their escape plan (aria, ‘Pensa a chi geme d’amor piagata’). In the meantime, young Oberto has another audience with Alcina, who assures him that he will soon get to see his father again (though she doesn’t tell him that, being her ex-lover, his dad is no longer a Homo sapiens sapiens, but a Panthera leo). Oronte then enters with the news that Ruggiero had fled, leaving Alcina in a decidedly unfamiliar emotional terrain of being the dumped by her lover (aria, ‘Ah, mio cor Schernito sei’). Ruggiero is now breaking free of Alcina’s spell and recognizes his Bradamante for who she is (arias, ‘Vorrei vendicarmi’, ‘Mi lusinga il dolce affetto’, and ‘Verdi prati, selve amene’). Their plan to defeat Alcina and leave the place is overheard by Morgana, who rushes to warn her sister. Alcina’s call for help from the spirits that used to be at her command goes unanswered (aria, ‘Ombre pallide, lo so, m’udite’). Her power has been eroded by her weakened heart and the presence of Melisso’s magic ring (ballets of dreams). Act III In another romantic twist, Oronte’s feigned indifference toward Morgana induces her to confess her reawakened love for him (see, guys can play ‘hard to get’, too ). Alcina doesn’t have such luck when she confronts Ruggiero, however. He is now fully disenchanted with her. The sorceress is reduced to threats and pleas (arias, ‘Ma quando tornerai’ and ‘Mi restano le lagrime’), which fall on Ruggioro’s deaf ears (aria, ‘Sta nell’ircana pietrosa tana’). Annoyed by Oronte’s report of how her waning magical power has rendered her warriors powerless and Oberto’s tactless enthusiasm about finally finding his dad, Alcina hands the boy a spear and commands him to slay a lion with it. But the lion’s submission to him and its familiarity enable the boy to recognize that it is none other than his father Astolfo (aria, ‘Barbara Io ben lo so’). When Oronte accepts Ruggiero’s alliance in return for his freedom, the sorcerous sisters appeal for mercy. Ruggiero shatters the urn that holds the source of Alcina’s magic, causing both her and Morgana to vanish. The transformed ex-lovers are returned to their human form (Astolfo included) and the opera ends on a happy note for all who remains. For some good samples of the music of this opera, try: - www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMV_ammHpTg&mode=related&search= (Renée Fleming sings 'Di, cor mio') - www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jDqw-p5JHY (Vesselina Kasarova sings 'Mi lusinga il dolce affetto') - www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l_0_8KPGZg&mode=related&search= (Catherine Naglestad sings 'Ah, mio cor'... *Wardrobe malfunction alert) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=80qCp1xqONA (V Kasarova sings 'Verdi prati') - www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnb3m90nl-E (Natalie Dessay sings 'Tornami a veghegghiar'... *Racy video, the gal in drag is playing the cross-dressed Bradamante) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrPEkDJg8RI (Vesselina Kasarova sings 'Sta nell’ircana) Convoluted as the twists and turns of the story are, the main idea of the opera is as simple as ‘how love conquers all’. Alcina begins the opera in total control of her realms and others, but her love for Ruggiero is stronger than what she had ever experienced with other victims before. As he gradually awakens from her spell, Alcina’s emotional injuries weaken her power, while rendering her more human. By the end of the opera, she is just as broken as any spurned lover would be, magical or not. Alcina has 6 arias, 3 of them are masterpieces in how to inject drama and character into a Baroque show-piece aria. Her Act I, ‘Di, cor mio’, is the only ‘simple’ one in term of expressing only one side of her nature. When sung by a rich-voiced soprano with a good dramatic flare, this sensual song would give you a good sample of how operatic music can be x-rated. Alcina’s Act II, Ah mio cor, is more diverse. Occurring right after the powerful sorceress has learn that her lover has abandoned her, it is a da capo aria whose slow first part is an amazingly vivid vocalization of grief and heart-break. But she is Alcina, the ruler of her own island who had conquered many men before, and the fast second part of the aria presents a wonderful picture of vengeful rage of a proud woman. Alas, her grief over Ruggiero’s abandonment is greater than her self-confidence, and the slow first section returns to end the number... without the refrains. Alcina is overwhelmed by her emotions, which weakens her magical power to the point that the spirits that used to obey her every command refuse to answer her summon (note how the strings accompaniment is silenced when they should normally answer in her accompanied recitative that leads to the aria, Ombre pallide). Her Act III, ‘Ma quando tornerai’ is the most complicated one of many competing emotions yet (and the sorceress is more relatable to the rest of us mortals than ever), with her desire for revenge prevailing in the end. Ruggiero is a rather boring character at the beginning, being so magically possessed that he is reduced to being either monotonously jealous or horny. As Bradamante/Ricciardo (with the aid of Melisso) tries to jump start his pre-Alcina memory, he begins to express more mixed emotions, and his arias become more interesting. When it finally dawns on him that the ‘romantic rival’ is really none other than his true love Bradamante, he breaks into an achingly beautiful aria (Mi lusinga il dolce affetto), alternating between expressing his tender feelings for his brave fiancée and the disgust he feels for himself for his infidelity. When he tries to con Alcina into consenting to let him go on a hunting trip in the next scene, his ‘Mio bel tesoro’ is a marvelous ‘double speak’ song, telling the sorceress aloud that he remains a faithful lover.... but muting the part that really matters, ‘but not to you!’ Ruggiero also has the most well known aria of the opera, the mournful ‘Verdi prati, where he agrees to leave the enchanted island forever. The only real bravura aria the knight gets is his last one, once the defeat of Alcina is at hand and the warrior and his side-kicks will get to go on their warrior ways again. Sta nell’ircana’ is a fearsomely florid piece to sing near the end of the opera, and when it is done well it really spices up the 3rd Act. All the other characters also receive very well tailor-made music befitting their individual characters. The most famous of these is Morgana’s virtuosic ‘Tornami a vegheggiar.’ It is often stolen by the soprano singing Alcina, however, to a rather dramatically questionable effect, since the number doesn’t fit the characters of Alcina at all (in the context of the opera, it is like seeing Humphrey Bogart talking with the voice of Daffy Duck..... which is to say.... weird). Such a re-assignment does occur often, however. Händel himself sanctioned the first one when he couldn’t find a soprano for the role of Morgana who could cope with the music. There are many good recordings of this opera by now. Most notable ones are: The 1959 Ferdinand Leitner/ Joan Sutherland, the 1962 Richard Bonynge/ J Sutherland, the 1986 Richard Hickox/ Arleen Auger, the 1999 William Christie/Renée Fleming, and the highly recommended 2006 Ivor Bolton/ Anja Harteros. Some other operas based on Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso: Vivaldi’s Orlando furioso, Broschi’s L’isola d’Alcina, Albinoni’s Alcina delusa da Ruggiero, Håndel’s Orlando, Ariodante; Haydn’s Orlando paladino, Donizetti’s Il furioso all’isola di San Domingo Some operas by Händel: Agrippina, Alcina, Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Rinaldo, Serse, Siroe, Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno

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