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{{Short description|1735 opera seria by German-British Baroque composer George Frideric Handel}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{for multi|the Romanian commune called Alcina in Hungarian|Alțâna|the opera by Francesca Caccini|La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d'Alcina}}
{{Infobox opera
| name              = {{lang|it|Alcina}}
| composer          = [[George Frideric Handel]]
| image             = Georg Friedrich Händel - Alcina title page of the libretto - London 1735.png
| image_upright     = 0.8
| caption           = Title page of the libretto
| translated_title  = 
| librettist        = 
| language          = Italian
| based_on          = Libretto of ''L'isola di Alcina''
| premiere_date     = {{Start date|1735|04|16|df=y}}
| premiere_location = [[Royal Opera House#First theatre|Theatre Royal, Covent Garden]], London
}}
'''''Alcina''''' ([[Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis|HWV]] 34) is a 1735 [[opera]] by [[George Frideric Handel]]. Handel used the [[libretto]] of ''L'isola di Alcina'', a work set to music in 1728 in Rome by [[Riccardo Broschi]], which he had acquired a year later during his travels in Italy.<ref>Dean 2006, p. 315</ref><ref>Nowadays the libretto is attributed to [[Antonio Fanzaglia]].[https://books.google.com/books?id=-whqYgEACAAJ] [http://www.operarara.pl/en/8/171/178/alcina] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407073000/http://www.operarara.pl/en/8/171/178/alcina|date=2012-04-07}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=iPPEMAAACAAJ]</ref> Partly altered for better conformity, the story was originally taken from [[Ludovico Ariosto]]'s ''[[Orlando furioso]]'' (like those of the Handel operas ''[[Orlando (opera)|Orlando]]'' and ''[[Ariodante]]''), an epic poem. The opera contains several musical sequences with opportunity for dance: these were composed for dancer [[Marie Sallé]].

==Performance history==
''Alcina'' was composed for Handel's first season at the [[Royal Opera House#First theatre|Theatre Royal, Covent Garden]] in London. It premiered on 16 April 1735. Like the composer's other works in the [[opera seria]] genre, ''Alcina'' fell into obscurity; after a revival in [[Braunschweig|Brunswick]] in 1738 it was not performed again until a production in [[Leipzig]] in 1928.

The Australian [[soprano]] [[Joan Sutherland]] sang the role in a production by [[Franco Zeffirelli]] in which she made her debut at [[La Fenice]] in February 1960 and at the [[Dallas Opera]] in November of that year. She performed in the same production at the [[Royal Opera House]], Covent Garden, in 1962. Since then ''Alcina'' has been performed on many of the world's stages. A major production was the one directed by [[Robert Carsen]] and originally staged for the [[Opéra de Paris]] in 1999 and repeated at the [[Lyric Opera of Chicago]]. Both stagings featured [[Renée Fleming]] in the title role.

The opera was given a concert performance on 10 October 2014 at the [[Barbican Centre]] in London. [[Joyce DiDonato]] sang the title role under [[Harry Bicket]] with [[The English Concert]]. [[Alice Coote]], [[Christine Rice]] and [[Anna Christy]] sang other significant roles. The group toured to the European continent with performances in Pamplona, Madrid, Vienna, and Paris and then to [[Carnegie Hall]] in New York on 26 October.<ref>Laura Battle,
[https://www.ft.com/content/942eabb4-52bd-11e4-9221-00144feab7de "''Alcina'', The English Concert, Barbican, London and touring – review"], ''Financial Times'' (London), 13 October 2014</ref> ''Alcina'' received a fully staged production during the 2017 [[Santa Fe Opera]] season with [[Elza van den Heever]] in the title role.<ref>Miller, Sarah Bryan (21 August 2017). [http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/reviews/santa-fe-opera-offers-beautiful-singing-and-an-important-world/article_89ba90e9-a4dc-595d-a6ad-b3dd63b2b809.html "Santa Fe Opera offers beautiful singing and an important world premiere"]. ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]''</ref> Among many other performances worldwide, the opera was staged by the [[Salzburg Festival]] in 2019, with [[Cecilia Bartoli]] in the title role.
<ref>{{cite web |last1=Servidei |first1=Laura |title=Alcina's Hotel California at Salzburg's Whitsun festival |url=https://bachtrack.com/review-alcina-bartoli-piau-jaroussky-michieletto-whitsun-salzburg-june-2019 |website=bachtrack.com |access-date=11 December 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

==Roles==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ {{sronly|Roles, voice types, and premiere cast}}
!Role
!Voice type
!Premiere cast, 16 April 1735<br />Conductor: George Frideric Handel<ref>{{Almanacco|dmy=16-04-1735|match=Alcina}}</ref>
|-
|Alcina, ''a sorceress''
| [[soprano]]
| [[Anna Maria Strada]] 
|-
|Morgana, ''Alcina's sister''
| soprano
| [[Cecilia Young]]
|-
|Oberto, ''a boy searching for his father''
| [[boy soprano]]
| [[William Savage]]
|-
|Ruggiero, ''a knight''
| [[mezzo-soprano]] [[castrato]]
| [[Giovanni Carestini]]
|-
|Bradamante, ''Ruggiero's betrothed, disguised as her own brother, the knight Ricciardo''
| [[contralto]]
| [[Maria Caterina Negri]]
|-
|Oronte, ''lover of Morgana''
| [[tenor]]
| [[John Beard (tenor)|John Beard]]
|-
|Melisso, ''Bradamante's Guardian''
| [[Bass (voice type)|bass]]
| [[Gustavus Waltz]]
|}

==Synopsis==

===Prologue===
The background of the opera comes from the poem ''Orlando Furioso.'' The heroic knight [[Ruggiero (character)|Ruggiero]] is destined to a short but glorious life, and a benevolent magician is always whisking him away from the arms of his fiancée, [[Bradamante]]. Bradamante is not the type to put up with the constant disappearance of her lover, and she spends vast portions of the poem in full armor chasing after him. Just before the opera begins she has rescued him from an enchanted castle, only to have her flying horse (a [[hippogriff]]) take a fancy to Ruggiero and fly off with him. Ruggiero and the hippogriff land on an island in the middle of the ocean. As the hippogriff begins to eat the leaves of a [[Myrtus|myrtle]] bush, Ruggiero is startled to hear the bush begin to speak. The bush reveals that it was once a living soul named Sir [[Astolfo]], and the island belongs to the sister sorceresses Alcina and Morgana. The beautiful Alcina seduces every knight that lands on her isle, but soon tires of her lovers and changes them into stones, animals, plants, or anything that strikes her fancy. Despite Astolfo's warning, Ruggiero strides off to meet this sorceress – and falls under her spell.

===Act 1===
Bradamante, again searching for her lover, arrives on Alcina's island with Ruggiero's former tutor, [[Melissa (sorceress)|Melisso]]. Dressed in armor, Bradamante looks like a young man and goes by the name of her own brother, Ricciardo. She and Melisso possess a magic ring which enables the wearer to see through illusion, which they plan to use to break Alcina's spells and release her captives.

The first person they meet is the sorceress Morgana. Barely human and with no understanding of true love, she immediately abandons her own lover Oronte for the handsome 'Ricciardo.' Morgana conveys the visitors to Alcina's court, where Bradamante is dismayed to discover that Ruggiero is besotted with Alcina and in a state of complete amnesia about his previous life. Also at Alcina's court is a boy, Oberto, who is looking for his father, Astolfo, who was last seen heading toward this island. Bradamante guesses that Astolfo is now transformed into something, but she holds her peace and concerns herself with Ruggiero. Bradamante and Melisso rebuke Ruggiero for his desertion, but he can't think of anything except Alcina.

Meanwhile, Oronte discovers that Morgana has fallen in love with 'Ricciardo,' and challenges 'him' to a duel. Morgana stops the fight, but Oronte is in a foul mood and takes it out on Ruggiero. He tells the young man exactly how Alcina treats her former lovers and adds that, as far as he can tell, Alcina has fallen in love with the newcomer, Ricciardo (''Semplicetto! A donna credi?'' Nr. 12). Ruggiero is horrified and overwhelms Alcina with his jealous fury. Things get even worse when 'Ricciardo' enters and pretends to admire Alcina. Alcina calms Ruggiero (''Sì, son quella'' Nr.&nbsp;13), but Bradamante is so upset at seeing her fiancé wooed before her very eyes that she reveals her true identity to Ruggiero (''La bocca vaga, quell'occhio nero'' Nr.&nbsp;14). Melisso hastily contradicts her and Ruggiero becomes very confused.

[[File:Niccolò dell' Abbate 001.jpg|thumb|''Alcina Meets Ruggiero'', [[Niccolò dell'Abbate]], c. 1550]]
Alcina tells Morgana that she plans to turn Ricciardo into an animal, just to show Ruggiero how much she really loves him. Morgana begs Ricciardo to escape the island and Alcina's clutches, but 'he' says he'd rather stay, as he loves another. Morgana asks if he is referring to her and he says yes, and swears his fidelity to her. The act ends with Morgana's aria "{{Lang|it|Tornami a vagheggiar}}", in which she tells 'Ricciardo' to come back to court her, and that she will remain faithful to him <ref>[[Georg Friedrich Händel, Alcina, Kassel, Basel, London, New York, Praha, Bärenreiter, 2008]]</ref> (In some productions, this aria is sung by Alcina.)<ref>[http://www.aria-database.com/search.php?individualAria=1053 "Tornami a vagheggiar"], The Aria Database</ref>

===Act 2===
Melisso recalls Ruggiero to reason and duty by letting him wear the magic ring: under its influence, Ruggiero sees the island as it really is—a desert, peopled with monsters. Appalled, he realizes he must leave, and sings the famous aria "''Verdi prati''" ("Green meadows") where he admits that even though he knows the island and Alcina are mere illusion, their beauty will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Melisso warns Ruggiero that he cannot just leave; Alcina still wields immense power, and he should cover his escape by telling her that he wishes to go hunting. Ruggiero agrees, but, thoroughly bewildered by the magic and illusion surrounding him, he refuses to believe his eyes when he at last sees Bradamante as herself, believing that she may be another of Alcina's illusions. Bradamante is in despair, as is Alcina. Convinced of Ruggiero's indifference, she enters to turn Ricciardo into an animal, and Ruggiero has to pull himself together quickly and convince the sorceress that he does not need any proof of her love. It is at this point that the audience realises that Alcina genuinely loves Ruggiero; from now until the end of the opera, she is depicted sympathetically.

[[File:2019 performance of Handel's ALCINA in the ancient theater of Athens.jpg|thumb|Performance in the ancient Herodeion theatre in Athens on 6 July 2019]]
Oronte realizes that Ricciardo, Melisso and Ruggiero are in some sort of alliance, and Morgana and Alcina realise they are being deceived. But it is too late: Alcina's powers depend on illusion and, as true love enters her life, her magic powers slip away. As the act ends, Alcina tries to call up evil spirits to stop Ruggiero from leaving her, but her magic fails her.

===Act 3===
After this the opera finishes swiftly. Morgana and Oronte try to rebuild their relationship; she returns to him and he rebuffs her but (once she is offstage) admits he loves her
still. Ruggiero returns to his proper heroic status and sings an aria accompanied by high horns; Oberto is introduced to a lion, to whom he feels strangely attached, and Alcina sings a desolate aria in which she longs for oblivion.

Bradamante and Ruggiero decide that they need to destroy the source of Alcina's magic, usually represented as an urn. Alcina pleads with them, but Ruggiero is deaf to her appeals and smashes the urn. As he does so, everything is both ruined and restored. Alcina's magic palace crumbles to dust and she and Morgana sink into the ground, but Alcina's lovers are returned to their proper selves. The lion turns into Oberto's father, Astolfo, and other people stumble on, "I was a rock," says one, "I a tree" says another, and "I a wave in the ocean..." All the humans sing of their relief and joy, and Alcina is forgotten.

== Audio recordings ==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
|+{{sronly|''Alcina'' discography, audio recordings}}
!Year
!Cast:<br />Alcina, Ruggiero,<br />Bradamante, Morgana,<br />Oronte, Melisso, Oberto
!Conductor,<br />Orchestra
!Label
|-
|1959||[[Joan Sutherland]],<br />[[Fritz Wunderlich]],<br />[[Norma Procter]],<br />[[Jeanette Van Dijck]],<br />[[Nicola Monti]],<br />[[Thomas Hemsley]]<br />
||[[Ferdinand Leitner]],<br />[[Capella Coloniensis]]
||LP/CD: [[Deutsche Grammophon]]
|-
|1962||[[Joan Sutherland]],<br />[[Teresa Berganza]],<br />[[Monica Sinclair]],<br />[[Graziella Sciutti]],<br />[[Luigi Alva]],<br />[[Ezio Flagello]],<br />[[Mirella Freni]]
||[[Richard Bonynge]],<br />[[London Symphony Orchestra]]
||LP/CD: [[Decca Records|Decca]]<ref name=OPDIS>[http://www.operadis-opera-discography.org.uk/CLHAALCI.HTM Recordings of ''Alcina'' on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk]</ref>
|-
|1986||[[Arleen Auger]],<br />[[Della Jones]],<br />Kathleen Kuhlmann,<br />Eiddwen Harrhy,<br />Maldwyn Davies,<br />[[John Tomlinson (bass)|John Tomlinson]],<br />Patrizia Kwella
||[[Richard Hickox]]<br />[[City of London Sinfonia|City of London Baroque Sinfonia]]
||CD: [[EMI Classics|EMI]]
|-
|1999||[[Renée Fleming]],<br />[[Susan Graham]],<br />Kathleen Kuhlmann,<br />[[Natalie Dessay]],<br />Timothy Robinson,<br />[[Laurent Naouri]],<br />[[Juanita Lascarro]]
||[[William Christie (musician)|William Christie]]<br />[[Les Arts Florissants (ensemble)|Les Arts Florissants]]
||CD: [[Erato Records|Erato]]<br />Recorded live at the [[Opéra national de Paris]], June 1999<ref name=OPDIS/>
|-
|2005|||[[Anja Harteros]],<br />[[Vesselina Kasarova]],<br />[[Sonia Prina]],<br />Verónica Cangemi,<br />[[John Mark Ainsley]],<br />[[Christopher Purves]],<br />[[Deborah York]]
||[[Ivor Bolton]]<br />[[Bayerisches Staatsorchester]]
||CD: Farao Classics<ref>[http://www.farao-classics.de/english/catalogue/alcina-e.html ''Alcina''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806002937/http://www.farao-classics.de/english/catalogue/alcina-e.html |date=2016-08-06 }}, Farao Classics</ref><br />Recorded live at [[Prinzregententheater|Münchner Prinzregententheater]], July 2005
|-
|2009||[[Joyce DiDonato]],<br />[[Maite Beaumont]],<br />Sonia Prina,<br />[[Karina Gauvin]],<br />[[Kobie van Rensburg]],<br />Vito Priante,<br />Laura Cherici
||[[Alan Curtis (harpsichordist)|Alan Curtis]]<br />[[Il Complesso Barocco]] orchestra
||CD: [[Archiv]] [[Deutsche Grammophon]]<br />Recorded live at Chiesa di Sant'Agostino, [[Tuscania]], Sept 2007<ref name=OPDIS/>
|-
|2023||[[Magdalena Kožená]],<br />[[Anna Bonitatibus]],<br />Elizabeth DeShong, <br />[[Erin Morley]],<br />Valerio Contaldo, <br />Alex Rosen,<br />Alois Mühlbacher
|[[Marc Minkowski]]<br />[[Les Musiciens du Louvre]]
|CD: [[Pentatone (record label)|Pentatone]]<br />Recorded at the Auditorium de Bordeaux, February 2023
|}

==Video recordings==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
|+{{sronly|''Alcina'' discography, video recordings}}
!Year
!Cast:<br />Alcina, Ruggiero,<br />Bradamante, Morgana,<br />Oronte, Melisso, Oberto
!Conductor,<br />Opera house,<br />Orchestra and chorus
!Label<ref>[https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Other/Handel-Alcina.htm Handel's Arcina production list] Bach Cantatas website</ref><ref name=OPDIS />
|-
|1983||Joan Sutherland,<br />[[Margreta Elkins]],<br />[[Lauris Elms]],<br />Narelle Davidson,<br />Richard Greager,<br />[[John Wegner]],<br />Anne-Maree McDonald
|[[Richard Bonynge]],<br />[[Sydney Opera House]],<br />[[Sydney Symphony Orchestra]] and chorus
|DVD: House of Opera<br />Cat: DVD 8863
|-
|1990||[[Arleen Augér]],<br />[[Della Jones]],<br />Kathleen Kuhlmann,<br />[[Donna Brown (soprano)|Donna Brown]],<br />Jorge López Yáñez,<br />Gregory Reinharti,<br />Martina Musacchio
|[[William Christie (musician)|William Christie]],<br />[[Grand Théâtre de Genève]],<br />[[Orchestre de la Suisse Romande]],<br />Choeur du Grand Théâtre
|DVD: House of Opera<br />Cat: DVD 206
|-
|1999||[[Catherine Naglestad]],<br />[[Alice Coote]],<br />Helene Schneiderman,<br />Catriona Smith,<br />Rolf Romei,<br />[[Michael Ebbecke]],<br />[[Claudia Mahnke]]
|[[Alan Hacker]],<br />[[Staatsoper Stuttgart]],<br />[[Staatsorchester Stuttgart]]
|DVD: [[Arthaus (video label)|ArtHaus Musik]]<br />Cat: 100338; 100 339
|-
|2011||[[Anja Harteros]],<br />[[Vesselina Kasarova]],<br />Kristina Hammarström,<br />Veronica Cangemi,<br />Benjamin Bruns,<br />[[Adam Plachetka]],<br />Alois Mühlbacher
|[[Marc Minkowski]],<br />[[Vienna State Opera]],<br />[[Les Musiciens du Louvre|Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble]],<br />[[Vienna State Opera Ballet]]
|DVD / Blu-ray: [[Arthaus (video label)|ArtHaus Musik]]<br />Cat: 101571; 108028
|-
|2015||[[Sandrine Piau]],<br />[[Maite Beaumont]],<br />Angélique Noldus,<br />[[Sabina Puértolas]],<br />[[Daniel Behle]],<br />Giovanni Furlanetto,<br />[[Chloé Briot]]
|[[Christophe Rousset]],<br />[[Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie]],<br />[[Les Talens Lyriques]],<br />Choeur de Chambre de l'IMEP
|Blu-ray: Alpha Classics<br />Cat: ALPHA-715<br />(Blu-ray 1: Alcina; Blu-ray 2: Tamerlano)
|-
|2015||[[Patricia Petibon]],<br />[[Philippe Jaroussky]], <br />Katarina Bradić,<br />[[Anna Prohaska]], <br />[[Anthony Gregory]],<br />Krzysztof Baczyk,<br />Elias Mädler
|[[Andrea Marcon]],<br />[[Freiburger Barockorchester]],<br />[[MusicAeterna|MusicAeterna choir]]
|DVD / Blu-ray: [[Erato Records]]<br />Cat: 9029597436; 9029597435<br /><br />Broadcaster: [[Arte|Arte Channel]]<br />Directed by [[Katie Mitchell]] at [[Festival d'Aix-en-Provence]], July 2015
|}

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{reflist}}
'''Sources'''
*{{citation|first=Winton (2006)|last=Dean|author-link=Winton Dean|title=Handel's Operas, 1726–1741|publisher=Woodbridge: Boydell Press|year=2006|isbn=1-84383-268-2}}. (The second of the two volume definitive reference on the operas of Handel)

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160115233323/http://www.librettidopera.it/alcina/alcina.html Libretto] from www.librettidopera.it
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150907014233/http://old.warnerclassics.com/sungtexts/0825646965328.pdf Libretto with translations into English (Harriet Mason), German (Martina Seeber), and French] ([[Michel Orcel]])
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090530000029/http://www.opera-opera.com.au/ploth.htm#handalci Summary] from Opera-Opera.com (Second section down)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100929210025/http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/abu7619/large/index.html Full score (German Handel Society: Leipzig. 1868)]
* {{IMSLP|work=Alcina, HWV 34 (Handel, George Frideric)|cname=''Alcina''}}

{{George Frideric Handel |state=collapsed}}
{{Orlando Furioso}}
{{OlivierAward OperaProduction 2001–2025}}
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[[Category:Italian-language operas]]
[[Category:Matter of France]]
[[Category:Opera seria]]
[[Category:1735 operas]]
[[Category:Operas by George Frideric Handel]]
[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:Operas based on works by Ludovico Ariosto]]
[[Category:Opera world premieres at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden]]
[[Category:Fictional characters who use magic]]