The work under consideration here is Francesca Caccini’s Il liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina. Written as a court entertainment in Florence in 1625 it’s almost certainly the first work of its kind by a woman. It was commissioned by the two female regents of Florence; Christine of Lorraine and Maria Maddalena of Austria, for the visit of Wladyslaw, Prince of Poland and Sweden. Can it really be thought of as an opera though? It’s from that period when gentlemanly (and ladylike) scholars were trying to reconstruct what they believed Classical Greek drama had been like, though in this case the theatrical elements are mixed with dances (that would have been performed by the ladies and gentlemen of the Court) and even an equestrian ballet which might prove tricky in a modern opera house!
So the singing style is relentlessly strophic and recitative like with quite sparse orchestral accompaniment. Even the choruses are pretty declamatory. Everything follows the stress patterns of speech. It’s like listening to Monteverdi but more so. Monteverdi found excuses to put in more elaborate vocal numbers. Caccini, despite being a notable singer herself, doesn’t. And since we don’t have the extravagant stage effects that were such a feature of these court extravaganzas or the visual element of dance it’s a bit dull. It’s basically an hour and a quarter of the characters playing out a version of the well known story from Orlando furioso.
On this recording, made in the Theatre Royal at Versailles, the performance is perfectly decent. The soloists are a well matched group. Emiliano Gonzalez-Toro, playing Ruggiero, is a pleasant, fairly light, tenor. The principal ladies are both mezzos. Alcina, Alix le Saux, has quite a bright tone and contrasts nicely with the darker hues of Lorrie Garcia who sings Melissa, the fairy sent by Bradamante to recall Ruggiero to his duty as a Christian warrior. All three get the job done and are supported by a fairly large supporting cast singing Damsels, Enchanted Plants and minor characters including Neptune and the River Vistula who sing a Prologue in praise of the honoured guest.
The band is the Ensemble I Gemelli under the general direction of their founders Mathilde Etienne and Emiliano Gonzalez-Toro. They are one of the best very early renaissance groups around and featured in a very fine recording of Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria a few years ago, and are again excellent.
The recording is clean and crisp and is available as 88.2kHz/24bit and 44.1kHz/16 bit lossless digital, MP3 and as a physical CD. As with all these Château de versailles Spectacles recordings there’s a booklet that’s little short of a book with all kinds of information in it.
I doubt this work will be recorded again soon and this version is well executed. It’s obviously of interest to scholars and specialists in these very early “operatic” experiments. Whether there’s much here for a more general audience is open to question.
Catalogue information: Chateau de Versailles Spectacles CVS176. Due for release 20th November 2026
