Alcina meets Ruggiero - painting by Niccolò dell'Abbate, c1550
Alcina, opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel [1735], anonymous libretto based on L’isola d’Alcina (set by Broschi [1728]), after cantos VI-VII of Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto [1516]. New edition by Clifford Bartlett for Early Music Company, with English libretto translated by Amanda Holden.
Touring production by Opera Theatre Company, given at Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray, Co. Wicklow, on 24 October 2009.
Cast: Sinead Campbell-Wallace (Alcina); Doreen Curran (Bradamante); Stephen Wallace (Ruggiero); Jane Harrington (Morgana); Ed Lyon (Oronte) and Julian Hubbard (Melisso).
Directed by Annilese Miskimmon with design by Nicky Shaw, lighting by Tina MacHugh and ensemble conducted by Christian Curnyn.
OTC rounded of its Handel year with this production of Alcina. There was much to enjoy here, with lovely ensemble playing from the orchestra, excellent singing with no weak links in the cast, and an elegantly simple production that made this otherwise ambitious opera a viable touring show. The music – especially in the second act – is beautiful, with some of it (the aria ‘Verdi, prati’ especially) justly well-known on its own. The English translation is clear and, combined with Miskimmon’s 1920’s Noel Cowardesque production, makes for a fun night out. It is touring Ireland until November 7, so if you are able to make a performance it is worth seeking out. Michael Dervan’s review in the Irish Times of October 20 is here (scroll down to the foot of the page).
I’m glad I saw it, but I can’t think of much more to say of the performance itself. As with Orlando, Handel presents us with a shard of Ariosto’s epic poem, elaborating a moment in the tortuous history of love, adds humour without losing pathos, uses magic as an elegant way of symbolising the dance of desire and power. Any modern production of an early performance piece like this inevitably compromises the original, though that in itself isn’t a problem. After all, plenty of 18th-century productions made alterations to works so as to fit with what was possible – I was just reading how the score of Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie [1733] was never performed according to the original text, and further revised for each revival. But still, it is interesting to see what is retained and what is chopped out – what are our priorities in staging this material now?
In the case of this Alcina, the dances (originally choreographed by Marie Sallé) have vanished completely, as has the chorus, and most of the orchestra, not to mention the original elaborate staging effects. So the dramaturgy – the way of telling the story on stage – is completely changed. The orchestral instruments that DO play however, are authentic models of what would have been played by musicians in the 1730s, and the musicians strive to emulate the playing styles of their forebears. This curious dichotomy is now the standard – indeed, expected – situation for modern revivals of early opera, which makes you wonder what is actually being revived here? The only concession to the original staging conditions is the substitution of a countertenor in the castrato role (Ruggiero), so at least the cross-dressing is kept to a minimum, though this is again a compromise, and presents only a musical approximation (pace all my countertenor friends!).
The other challenge for producers is what to do during the long da capo arias – the temptation being nowadays to fill them with all sorts of stage business. Interestingly, as this production progressed the business in the arias decreased as we got to know the characters and situations better, so that by the time we got to Alcina’s “Ah! mio cor!” (midway through Act 2) the arias were being delivered with a stillness – and that actually drove the intensity of the drama even further.
First out of the blocks on October 17 is 
Finally, of course, there is 
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