''La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d'Alcina'' (''En.'' "The Liberation of Ruggiero from the island of Alcina") is a

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

in four scenes by

Francesca Caccini Francesca Caccini (; 18 September 1587 – most likely between 1641 and 1645) was an Italian composer, singer, lutenist, poet, and music teacher of the early Baroque era. She was also known by the nickname La Cecchina , given to her by the Floren ...

, first performed 3 February 1625 at the

Villa di Poggio Imperiale Villa del Poggio Imperiale (English: Villa of the Imperial Hill) is a predominantly neoclassical former grand ducal villa in Arcetri, just to the south of Florence in Tuscany, central Italy. Beginning as a villa of the Baroncelli of Florence, ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, with a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

by based on

Ludovico Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto (, ; ; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic '' Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describ ...

's ''

Orlando Furioso ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form ...

''. It is the first opera written by a woman and was long considered to be the first Italian opera to be performed outside of Italy. It was performed to celebrate the visit of Prince

Władysław Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to: People Mononym *Włodzis� ...

of Poland during

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

1625, and it was revived in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

in 1628. The work was commissioned by her employer Regent Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria, wife of

Cosimo II de' Medici Cosimo II de' Medici (12 May 1590 – 28 February 1621) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1609 until his death. He was the elder son of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Christina of Lorraine. For the majority of his 12-year rei ...

. ''Ruggiero'' was printed under the protection of Maria Magdalena in 1625, only five years after the first printed opera in Italy. It is the only opera by Francesca Caccini to survive. ''La liberazione di Ruggiero'' is written in the ''

stile moderno , Italian for "second practice", is the counterpart to (or ) and is sometimes referred to as . The term first appeared in 1603 in Giovanni Artusi's book (''The Second Part of The Artusi, or, Imperfections of Modern Music''), where it is attri ...

'', that is, the style of

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string instrument, string player. A composer of both Secular music, secular and Church music, sacred music, and a pioneer ...

, although the work owes more perhaps to the work of

Jacopo Peri Jacopo Peri (20 August 156112 August 1633) was an Italian composer, singer and instrumentalist of the late Renaissance music, Renaissance and early Baroque music, Baroque periods. He wrote what is considered the first opera, the mostly lost ''D ...

. It uses the new ''

stile recitativo Recitative (, also known by its Italian name recitativo () is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat lines ...

'', as well as

canzonetta In music, a canzonetta (; pl. canzonette, canzonetti or canzonettas) is a popular Italian secular vocal composition that originated around 1560. Earlier versions were somewhat like a madrigal but lighter in style—but by the 18th century, especia ...

s in the style of the

concerto delle donne The ''concerto delle donne'' () was an ensemble of professional female singers of late Renaissance music in Italy. The term usually refers to the first and most influential group in Ferrara, which existed between 1580 and 1597. Renowned for the ...

. The opera's orchestration calls for a

lirone The lirone (or lira da gamba) is the bass member of the ''lira'' family of instruments that was popular in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It is a bowed string instrument with between 9 and 16 gut strings and a fretted neck. When played, ...

, and somewhat remarkably for the period the cast does not require a

castrato A castrato (Italian; : castrati) is a male singer who underwent castration before puberty in order to retain a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice can also occur in one who, due to an endocrino ...

. The piece is balanced towards higher voices, with six

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

s, two

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

s, seven

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

s, and only one

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, as well as a trio of recorders. A compositional scheme is used within the work that associates flat keys with the feminine (the female protagonist Alcina and her attendants) and sharp keys with the masculine (the male protagonist

Ruggiero Ruggiero () is an Italian spelling variant of the name Ruggero, a version of the Germanic name Roger, and may refer to: As a surname * Adamo Ruggiero (born 1986), Canadian actor * Angela Ruggiero (born 1980), American hockey player * Angelo Rug ...

and the other male roles). The sorceress

Melissa Melissa is a feminine given name. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite language, Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey". Meliss ...

, who also appears in male disguise, is presented in the key of C major. Alcina is an evil and sexual sorceress, whereas Melissa is good. Melissa fights to free Ruggiero from Alcina's spells. The work has been recorded and has been revived a number of times, including in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

(1983),

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

(1987),

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

(1990),

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

(1991),

Düdingen Düdingen (; ; , locally ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Sense (district), Sense in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Fribourg (canton), Fribourg in Switzerland. It is one of the municipalities with a la ...

(Switzerland),

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

Neuburg an der Donau Neuburg an der Donau (Central Bavarian: ''Neiburg an da Donau'') is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany. Divisions The municipality has 16 divisions: * Altmannstetten * Bergen, N ...

(Germany) (1999), Brighton Early Music Festival 2015 (recorded by BBC Radio 3),

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

(France) (2017, recorded by Radio Classique),

Boston Early Music Festival The Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is a non-profit organization founded in 1980 in Boston, Massachusetts, to promote historical music performance. It arranges an annual Boston and New York City concert series, produces opera recordings, and ...

as ''Alcina'' (2018), and

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

(2024).

Recordings

*''La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d'Alcina'' directed by Wladyslaw Klosiewicz, with the Warsaw Chamber Opera and Musica Antique Collegium Varsoviense
B000FEW8LA
*''La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d'Alcina'' by Ensemble Renaissance on Sorabia Records *''La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d'Alcina'' directed by Elena Sartori, with ensembles Allabastrina and La Pifarescha. Glossa 2016 *''La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d'Alcina'' (first recording of the complete opera including reconstructed instrumental dances) directed by Paul Van Nevel, with Huelgas Ensemble. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 2018

Notes

References

;Sources * Cusick, Suzanne G., "Francesca Caccini", ''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'', ed. L. Macy (Retrieved 20 May 2006)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access). (Grove Opera article) ;Librettos * ''La liberazione di Ruggiero''. Ed. Doris Silbert. Northampton, MA. Smith College Archives, 1945. (piano-vocal score with introduction) * ''La liberazione di Ruggiero''. Ed. Brian Clark. www.primalamusica.com 2006 (Full score for sale, with performing materials).

External links

"Synopsis", Gilbert Blin, Boston Early Music Festival"Francesca Caccini’s creation of Alcina", Stephen Stubbs, Boston Early Music Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberazione di Ruggiero Operas by Francesca Caccini Italian-language operas 1625 operas Operas Operas based on works by Ludovico Ariosto