Oberlin

Excerpted from ClevelandClassical.com:

"'There've always been stories about the young soldier who leaves his native country to go fight in a distant land but then becomes immersed in that land's culture, and for whatever reason loses himself and his purpose,' Oberlin Opera Theatre Director Jonathon Field said during an interview. 'That's exactly what happens in Alcina -- you have Ruggiero, who flies on a griffin onto this island and becomes enchanted with the sorceress Queen Alcina.'

On Wednesday, March 9 at 8:00 pm in Hall Auditorium, and continuing on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 2:00 pm, conductor Christopher Larkin will lead the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra and two all-star casts in Handel's fantastical opera Alcina.

Field admitted that the plot is a little crazy. 'Alcina rules by magic and she bewitches her suitors into believing that her island is a place of their dreams. And when she becomes tired of them, she turns them into flowers, kind of like a garden of ex-boyfriends. Her downfall comes when she really does fall in love with Ruggiero.'"

Read the full article from Cleveland Classical writer Mike Telin.