In the words of the conductor Paul van Nevel, the opera La Liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina is an “almost unknown opera”, but also “a milestone in Italian music from the first half of the 17th century”. Written by Francesca Caccini, the first woman to compose an opera, with a libretto by Ferdinando Saracinelli, this work had its première on 3 February 1625, at Villa di Poggio Imperiale, in Florence, on the occasion of the visit of Prince Wladyslaw Vasa, the heir to the Polish throne at that time. The work had been commissioned by the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Maria Maddalena of Austria (who had married Cosimo de’ Medici), and, with this opera, whose libretto is full of references to both local and international political contexts of that time, her main aim was to make the Polish Crown Prince marry her daughter. At the CCB, the opera will be played by the Huelgas Ensemble, conducted by Paul van Nevel, and by the Ludovice Ensemble.


Huelgas Ensemble
Ensemble Officium
Ludovice Ensemble
Paul van nevel conductor

Programme
Francesca Caccini La Liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d'Alcina (1625)


Production | CCB