An Englishman, a Frenchman, a German, an Italian and a Spaniard all get washed up on a remote desert island. The colourful flora and fauna suggest an enticing paradise, and the resident nymphs prove pleasantly attentive. But a shadow is cast when our intrepid Europeans discover that this tropical speck of land is ruled by a capricious sorceress – a mere 800 years old, and drop-dead gorgeous – who has the disconcerting habit of transforming her discarded lovers into rocks, trees or animals. But it is so difficult to resist falling in love…The Venetian composer Giuseppe Gazzaniga was famous for his fluent, joyful and graceful music.

Giuseppe Gazzaniga: ‘alcina’s Island’

Smith Square Hall

Alcina’s Island is a 3-act dramma giocoso (comic opera), loosely based on the character of the sorceress Alcina from Ariosto’s epic poem Orlando furioso, which was also the source for Handel’s far more serious and literary Alcina.  The successful Venetian composer Gazzaniga wrote at least 50 operas, of which L’isola d’Alcina was one of the most widely performed - his most famous score was Don Giovanni, 1787, performed by Bampton in 1997 and 2004.

Thomas Blunt

Events

Past events

Sep 13, 2024

Giuseppe Gazzaniga: ‘alcina’s Island’ · Southbank Sinfonia

Jul 19 - Sep 13, 2024

Alcina's Island · Bampton Classical Opera

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