Like the simultaneous tragedy and comedy in Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos," the San Francisco Opera premiere of "Alcina" plays like two performances occupying the same stage at the same time. One is a ...

In Alcina earthbound reality is hardly anywhere to be seen. We are on a magic island ruled by the enchantress of the title, who disposes of her many lovers by turning them into wild beasts or rocks, ...

Ah, the opera. It is an otherworldly experience to sit in a hushed, dimly lit theater, gazing at the stage as a hidden orchestra strikes the first stirring chord. The drama is also a cathartic ...

There is a lot of opera on DVD lately, and the recent Arthaus Musik release of Handel's "Alcina" might have passed unnoticed save for an important local connection: It is a live 1999 recording of the ...

The IU Jacobs School of Music Opera and Ballet Theater has now demonstrated its excellence in baroque opera with a stunning production of “Alcina,” which premiered Feb. 7-8. George Frideric Handel’s ...

Welcome to Alcina’s island paradise. All men who set foot there fall under her spell, but soon discover it’s all an illusion: Alcina is an enchantress whose island is nothing but a barren wasteland, ...