Rare revival of the earliest known opera by a female composer

By Nahoko Gotoh, 11 November 2015

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Reviewed at The Old Market, Hove on 7 November 2015

Caccini, La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina (First Surviving Opera by a Woman Composer)

Deborah Roberts, Conductor

Ellan Parry, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Anna Devin, Alcina

Nick Pritchard, Ruggiero

Denis Lakey, Melissa / Atlante

Hannah Ely, Soprano

Cally Youdell, Soprano

Camilla Harris, Soprano

Bethany Horak-Hallett, Soprano

Roberta Diamond, Soprano

Nancy Cole, Mezzo-soprano

James Way, Tenor

Joshua Cooter, Tenor

William Bouvel, Tenor

Andrew Robinson, Baritone

Liberation Singers

BREMF Renaissance Players

A noble Norma trapped in a hollow dystopia

Andrew Larkin, 24th May

Salome Jicia delivers a vocally impressive and emotionally committed Norma, but Orpha Phelan’s post-apocalyptic staging fatally weakens Bellini’s sacred tragedy.

***11

A deli-cious revival of Rossini’s Il turco in Italia at Glyndebourne

Dominic Lowe, 23rd May

Mariame Clément’s production of Rossini's meta comedy is tightly revived with some excellent singing. Come for the writing tips, stay for the cured meats.

****1

Superb musical performances in Pinchgut’s Scarlatti rarity in Sydney

Sandra Bowdler, 23rd May

As usual, Pinchgut lavishes musical excellence on an obscure Baroque work... but why stage an oratorio?

****1

The Met’s Frida y Diego proves visually stunning, musically thrilling

David Wolfson, 22nd May

Deborah Colker and her design team create visually vibrant worlds for the Met’s new production of El último sueño de Frida y Diego, by Pulitzer Prize winner Gabriela Lena Frank.

*****

Glyndebourne’s first Tosca: vocally strong but imperfect

David Karlin, 21st May

Ted Huffman brings some interesting ideas to his first Glyndebourne production. Excellent singing is let down by indifferent physical acting.

***11

Dudamel’s LA Phil Walküre proves worth the wait

Matthew Richard Martinez, 21st May

An enveloping performance of Die Walküre spans three consecutive evenings, featuring world class singing in Frank Gehry’s stunning space.

****1

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Nahoko Gotoh

Nahoko is a UK-based Japanese music journalist with a background in musicology. She writes regularly for various Japanese media including Ongaku no tomo and Mostly Classic magazines.

Rare revival of the earliest known opera by a female composer at Brighton Early Music Festival