Transport yourself to sunnier climes, as Bampton Classical Opera brings Gazzaniga‘s Alcina’s Island to the Cotswolds, whisking us off to a desert island paradise where the glorious funny opera will pan out in the Deanery Garden.
Join Alcina in paradise, where the seductive and beautiful sorceress has a nasty habit of discarding her lovers and turning them into rocks, animals or trees.
But when an Englishman, Frenchman, Spaniard, Italian and German get washed up on her magical island two charming but disloyal resident nymphs help them escape Alcina’s clutches and flee, the plot propelled rivetingly along by Gazzaniga‘s fluent, cheerful and graceful score.
The successful Venetian composer wrote at least 50 operas, but this effervescent and fast-moving opera is his most widely performed, and is loosely based on Ariosto’s epic poem Orlando furioso, also the source for Handel’s far more serious and literary Alcina.
Jeremy Gray, co-artistic director at Bampton Classical Opera, says: “Gazzaniga’s Alcina’s Island is a zany comedy with gorgeous music and a jaunty rhyming English text.
“It has all the ingredients that suit Bampton Classical Opera so well, because aside from all the humour, Alcina’s Island has got lovely melodies and a great cast of characters.
“And as Bampton is nationally acclaimed for its comedies, this production will surely bring our audiences lots of fun, with a wonderful young cast who have been enjoying themselves immensely in rehearsals.
“So come along, bring a picnic to enjoy before the show in the beautiful Deanery Garden, and revel in the relaxed and informal atmosphere. No dressing up is required!”
Starring Inna Husieva, Sarah Chae, Charlotte Badham, Monwabisi Lindi, Dafydd Allen, Magnus Walker, Jonathan Eyers, Owain Rowlands, conducted by Thomas Blunt and accompanied by the Orchestra of Bampton Classical Opera, Alcina’s Island will premiere in Bampton Deanery Garden on July 19 – 20 July and then tour to Westonbirt Orangery, The Barn at Old Walland, Wadhurst and St John’s Smith Square, London, with pre-performance talks at Bampton, Westonbirt and London.
To book go to https://www.bamptonopera.org/eventfuturedetail.htm?event=761
