Hélène Montague, director
David Adams, conductor

Following a successful run at The Abbey Theatre on the Peacock stage, the Royal Irish Academy of Music is proud to present two further performances of Francesca Caccini's La liberazione di Ruggiero dall' isola di Alcina (Alcina) this season.

Set on Alcina's magical island, Francesca Caccini's opera is the first-known opera by a female composer and her only surviving opera. First performed in Florence in 1625, this pioneering composer set the libretto, derived from Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, as a "Balletto in Musica" mixing music, drama and dance. The story was later the inspiration for operas by Vivaldi, Handel and Haydn. The music is a glorious mixture of choruses, arias, recitatives and madrigals. In this exciting new production, Freemasons' Hall will become the magical island inhabited by both the characters of the opera and the audience as they journey through the stunning building in this site-specific promenade performance.

Presented in collaboration with the Grand Lodge of Ireland and The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Art