Lawrence-King & Utopia: Ruggiero’s Liberation from the Island of Alcina

Come to the German Church in Helsinki on Saturday, 8th March, to experience how the Medici family – the wealthiest magnates of their age – entertained their guests in Florence. The future King of Poland, Wladislav IV Vasa, came to visit in 1625, and to celebrate this event the Medicis decided to put on a pacy comic opera. To compose the piece, they commissioned their court favourite, Francesca Caccini, whose sprezzatura and sharp wit can be keenly felt in the music and plot twists. Ruggiero’s Liberation from the Island of Alcina is the first opera known to have been composed by a woman, and it is exactly 400 years since its first performance.

Andrew Lawrence-King – British doyen of old music – conspires with the Utopia Chamber Choir to transport the audience to the enchanted island of the sorceress Alcina. A baroque ensemble of leading musicians will assist in conjuring the magical atmosphere of this opera. 

Francesca Caccini (1587-1641): La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina 

Andrew Lawrence-King: harp, organ, regal, harpsichord and musical direction

Translation: Annika & Rupert Harding