Huelgas Ensemble / Paul Van Nevel
Das Alte Werk
Launch of this Season’s »Das Alte Werk« Series
Belgian conductor and ensemble leader Paul Van Nevel was once described as the »Hercule Poirot of early music« – when it comes to digging up Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces, Van Nevel and his investigative skills have been predictably reliable for more than four decades. Now, with his Huelgas Ensemble, he presents another historical sensation of music: Francesca Caccini’s »Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina«, the earliest known opera from the pen of a woman composer. For Van Nevel, one thing is certain: »This opera is a milestone in the Italian music of the first half of the seventeenth century.«
Francesca Caccini was born in Florence in 1587 as the daughter of the then-famous composer Giulio Caccini. She was soon admired not only as a singer but also as a composer. Of her thirteen operas, only the colourful and expressive music for the opera »La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina«, featuring haunting recitatives and arias, has survived. A gala cast now performs this opera jewel from 1625.
Performers
Huelgas Ensemble
Achim Schulz tenor
Perrine Devillers soprano
Sabine Lutzenberger soprano
conductor Paul Van Nevel
Programme
Francesca Caccini
La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina / Balletto con prologo e tre scene
Konzertante Aufführung
Subscription
Das Alte Werk
Live Broadcast
This concert will be recorded by NDR Kultur radio station and broadcast at 20:00 on 1 November 2018.