La Liberazione di Ruggiero Review: 17th-Century Opera Delights 2026

Francesca Caccini's La Liberazione di Ruggiero, the earliest surviving opera by a woman, charms audiences at this year's Buxton festival with its magical blend of wizards, sorceresses, and fairies. Premiered in 1625 at the Medici court, this rare 17th-century rarity offers a refreshingly girl-power take on Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, where warrior Ruggiero becomes a lovesick captive while sorceresses Alcina and Melissa battle for control.

A Semi-Serious Mythical Romp

The opera is a deliciously semi-serious romp, complete with a chorus of Alcina's former lovers transformed into plants and shrubs. The original premiere famously ended with a horse ballet, but director Eloise Lally takes a more earnest approach with her young Buckinghamshire company Vache Baroque. The production becomes a meditation on power and authority, shining brightest when it embraces its playful side.

Music Bursting with Color

Jonathan Darbourne's band supplements Caccini's supple, expressive score with instrumental works from Florentine contemporaries. The music bursts with color and idiomatic energy: three recorders weave in silvery parallel, answered by a trio of belching sackbuts. Violins dance to rhythms from theorbo and guitar, creating a texture that is gritty, gilded, and always encrusted with interest.

Modern Staging Meets Historical Context

Lally and designer Zahra Mansouri give us pastoral by way of Skid Row. A blindfolded Ruggiero (Jon Stainsby) is bound with a dirty shower-curtain, Melissa's henchmen sport fatigues, and Alcina's potion-making resembles cooking meth. The dramatic stakes rise, but the music must follow suit—Stainsby's impassioned performance stands out as a highlight.

Key Takeaways

• Francesca Caccini's La Liberazione di Ruggiero is the earliest surviving opera by a woman, premiered in 1625.
• The Buxton festival production blends historical music with modern, gritty staging.
• Jon Stainsby's performance as Ruggiero is a standout, bringing emotional depth.
• The opera's playful, semi-serious tone is most effective when it avoids over-earnestness.

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