The work under consideration here is Francesca Caccini’s Il liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina. Written as a court entertainment in Florence in 1625 it’s almost certainly the first work of its kind by a woman. It was commissioned by the two female regents of Florence; Christine of Lorraine and Maria Maddalena of Austria, for the visit of Wladyslaw, Prince of Poland and Sweden. Can it really be thought of as an opera though? It’s from that period when gentlemanly (and ladylike) scholars were trying to reconstruct what they believed Classical Greek drama had been like, though in this case the theatrical elements are mixed with dances (that would have been performed by the ladies and gentlemen of the Court) and even an equestrian ballet which might prove tricky in a modern opera house!
The first opera by a woman composer?
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Winners of the Eckhardt Grammatée competition, soprano Aemilia Moser and pianist Sabina Rzazade, gave a recital in Walter Hall on Tuesday at lunchtime. It was unusual! The material was all contemporary, much of it Canadian, and almost all of great difficulty. It was also divided into sets with the components of each set run without a break. Fortunately Aemilia’s program notes were excellent!
Music – concerts and opera
Out of Dawn’s Mind is a setting, by Edmund Finnis, of five poems by Alice Oswald. It’s scored for soprano (here Ruby Hughes) and string orchestra (here the 17 strong The Manchester Collective; dir: Rakhi Singh). The poems deal with light, water, time and the experience of coming into contact with the world. The feeling is intimate and meditative. The vocal line is high but quite relaxed in tempo. The accompaniment is elegiac with brooding and shimmering patches. It’s rather beautiful but not at all dramatic.
I sat down with mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska this morning to talk about her upcoming show at Koerner Hall with guitarist Sean Shibe. It’s a touring show that’s being seen in multiple cities across Europe and North America and Ema was very clear that she sees it as an “experience” and “not a song recital”. So let’s take a step back and look at how it came into existence and then evolved into what we will be able to experience later this month. 
