Last Updated on September 16, 2026
Richard Jones’ Sparky Alcina Takes Flight
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
Richard Jones’ 2022 production of Handel’s Alcina had its first revival last night at Covent Garden, with most of the cast, including star soprano Lisette Oropesa, mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo and soprano Mary Bevan, reprising their roles. Jones’ Alcina was unfortunate to have been produced in the same year as Francesco Michele’s lavish, Fellini-esque Glyndebourne production, which at the time gained most of the critical plaudits. Four years on, it feels like the right time to reassess Jones’ take on the opera on Handel’s home turf of Covent Garden. The 2022 opening night was marred by an ugly outbreak of racist heckling directed at a cast member, and last night was not without its own drama. The Royal Opera House’s Opera Director Oliver Mears took to the stage before the production to announce that Lisette Oropesa had a cold but would still be performing. This added a frisson of excitement to the evening. Would the diva pull it off? Would the rest of the run be affected?
With a ‘pre-loved’ libretto by Antonio Marchi taken from Ariosto’s poem ‘Orlando furioso’, Alcina was first performed at Covent Garden in 1735 at a point when Handel’s domination of the London opera scene was being challenged. The story takes us to a magical island that is ruled by Alcina, a sorceress, who has the power to turn her ex-lovers into animals. Ruggiero, a brave knight, has been transported to the island by a hippogriff (flying horse) and has fallen under the spell of Alcina. Ruggiero’s fiancée Bradamante, masquerading as her brother Ricciardo, arrives at the island to search for her innamorato along with Melisso, her guardian. The plot is fantastical, offering much opportunity for operatic shenanigans, and Jones makes the most of these with his brand of post-modern whimsy. There are themes of gender fluidity and jealousy, centralising the societal tension between the unregulated erotic, as embodied in Alcina, and the more regulated superego represented by Ruggiero’s tutor Atlante.
The overture has the performers at the front of the stage dressed like members of a Puritan religious sect, reading from a book called ‘The Only Path’ with its strap line ‘Mercy, Love, Duty, Courtesy’. Lisette Oropesa as Alcina arrives looking fabulous in a sparkly little black dress and black Louboutins with their trademark red soles. As well as being a great singer, Oropesa is the queen of the operatic flounce and weaves her magic over her subjects with élan. Jones’ Alcina is presented as an ‘influencer’ media star who is the face of her eponymous perfume brand with promotional pictures used to reinforce the point.
There was lots to enjoy in the production. Designer Antony McDonald framed the stage with striking sets of ruched curtains and created the iconic central image of a huge perfume bottle standing in for the urn that contains Alcina’s power; a movable maxi-Bonsai Forest functioned effectively for the outdoor scenes, and a fun potting shed was a worthy container for the production’s most comic moment, a libidinous reconciliation between Alcina’s sister Morgana and the steward Oronte. There was also some nifty choreography that mitigated the structural longeurs of the da capo arias.
Despite her cold, Cuban American soprano Lisette Oropesa was still the vocal star of the show. She was brilliant as Alcina, using her narcissism to bewitch and manipulate. Oropesa has a luminescent tone, control and technique that allow her to pivot between seductiveness and the anger of ‘Ah! Ruggeiro crudel’. If there were any vocal frailties, they were not noticeable after the first couple of minutes, and her high notes were incandescent.
Canadian-Italian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo as Ruggiero, looking like a member of The Libertines, made a convincing dramatic fist of a character who had lost their moral compass. Emily delivered a resigned take on the elegiac ‘Verdi Prati’, the character’s moment of revelation, with a heroic tone and tonal consistency across her range that the audience loved.
There were vocal fireworks from English soprano Mary Bevan as the flighty Morgana, who charmed with her ‘Lizzie Dripping’ corkscrew curls, displaying a gorgeous velvety tone in the plangent lament ‘Credete al mio dolore’.
Also returning was English tenor Rupert Charlesworth, who brought a more aggressive edge to his vocal this time around to his well-rounded comic portrayal of the hapless Oronte.
Beth Taylor as Bradamante and Edward Grint as the stolid Atlante were both making their Royal Opera House debuts. Taylor’s voice has an attractively dark, focused sound and she made an amusing foil for Emily D’Angelo’s Ruggiero. Edward Grint’s Atlante was less portentous than the role’s previous incumbent, which was no bad thing, and he has a fine bass-baritone voice that will no doubt lead him into more prominent roles. Young Thomas Mayes as Oberto, a child searching for his father, engaged brilliantly with the demands of Handelian vocal technique in what is surely one of the hardest child roles vocally.
The Royal Opera House orchestra under the baton of David Bates was terrific, playing Handel’s muscular score with verve and precision. The pacing was energetic, and the vocal balance was superbly managed.
With this revival, Jones’ Alcina has found its mojo. Oreposa led this fine cast from the front as they romped through nearly four hours of Handelian nonsense, and both they and the audience loved every minute.
15 September – 3 October 2026
Royal Opera House
Bow Street
London
WC2E 9DD
Looking for something different? Check out our review of Don Giovanni, also currently running at the Royal Opera House
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