Richard Jones’s new production of Alcina takes the bull by the horns, literally so at times in a show where animal heads loom large. From first to last, Jones offers a stylish and witty rendering of Handel’s opera as an almost pantomimic contest between sacred and profane love, culminating in a clever final reveal that brings laughs all round. After his problematic Wagner for ENO last winter, this is Jones back on top form.
Alcina has a chequered history at Covent Garden. Premiered here in 1735, it did not return until the 1960s. It has not featured for a generation. But it is far too enchanting a work to be ignored for so long and Alcina’s time seems now to have come. This is the third production in Britain this year, following stagings by Tim Albery at Opera North and Francesco Micheli for the Glyndebourne festival. Jones has come up with an Alcina that will stay the course and be revived.
