The powerful sorceress Alcina rules over a mystical island, a lush landscape crowned with a conjured-up palace which demonstrates her magical prowess. Here, nothing is what it seems, for in addition to the elements of disguise central to the plot, the characters and the audience alike fall under Alcina’s spell.
Alcina uses magic to seduce knights who land upon her island; her latest conquest is Ruggiero, a warrior who has strayed from his duty and his fiancée Bradamante due to Alcina’s spell. Bradamante, disguised as her brother Ricciardo, arrives on the island to break Alcina’s spell with a magic ring, which will win Ruggiero back and free Alcina’s ex-lovers, who have been transformed into wild beasts.
The plan is complicated by Morgana, Alcina’s sister, who falls passionately in love with “Ricciardo” and spurns her own fiancé Oronte. An angry Oronte reveals the truth to Ruggiero: Ruggiero is under Alcina’s spell and may eventually meet the same fate as her previous conquests. To convince Ruggiero as well as to spitefully implicate “Ricciardo”, Oronte suggests that “Ricciardo” is Alcina’s new love. Alcina prepares to turn “Ricciardo” into a beast to prove her affection for Ruggiero; “Ricciardo” (Bradamante) escapes this fate by truthfully claiming to love another, which mistakenly delights Morgana.
Once the spell over Ruggiero is broken, he is no longer able to trust what he sees; even when reunited with Bradamante, he fears it is an Alcina-induced illusion. As the plot unfolds, all disguises are shed and truths are revealed. Bradamante and Ruggiero pursue one goal: destroy the urn which is the source of Alcina’s power.
Alcina shows evidence of remorse and reform before the opera’s dramatic conclusion; it is not enough to convince Ruggiero and Bradamante, but might it convince the audience? Is Alcina a pure villain or rather a powerful woman who conquests like the men of her day and protects her domain from would-be subjugators? Ultimately, perhaps her love for Ruggiero is a greater weakness than a vulnerable magical urn.
