Oberlin

Excerpted from ClevelandClassical.com:

"Just before the lights dimmed in Hall Auditorium on Wednesday evening, March 9, a young couple in the row behind me commented on the plot synopsis for George Frideric Handel's Alcina. 'I read it before I auditioned for the opera,' one of them said, 'and I never figured it out.' The other replied, 'I just read it now, and I don't have a clue!'

Probably nobody goes to hear a Handel opera for the story line, but here's the gist: Alcina is a sorceress who lures heroes to her enchanted island and transforms them into objects or other life forms -- flowers in the case of Jonathon Fields' Oberlin production. Ruggiero, a Crusader, is the latest to be floralized. His fiancée Bradamante comes looking for him, accompanied by her guardian Melisso. At the court, they meet Oberto, a young page who is searching for his father.

The plot thickens as Morgana, Alcina's sister, falls for Bradamante, making her own sweetheart Oronto jealous. (Oh, by the way, Ruggiero is sung by a women and Bradamante is pretending to be a man, so you can imagine how things get mixed up.) Ruggiero and Bradamante finally extricate themselves from the nefarious powers of the twisted sisters, restoring all those flowers back to human beings. General rejoicing."

Read the full article from Cleveland Classical writer Daniel Hathaway.