Alcina (HWV 34) (Vocal Score)

Handel Alcina (HWV 34) (Vocal Score)
Opera in 3 Acts.

Full score (BA4061-01) and vocal score (BA4061-90) available for sale; performance material (BA4061-72) available for hire.

On 12 April 1735 Mary Pendarves, who had met Handel while still a child and later became one of his staunchest friends and admirers, wrote to her mother from London: “Yesterday morning my sister and I went [...] to Mr. Handel’s house to hear the first rehearsal of the new opera Alcina.  I think it the best he ever made, but I have thought so of so many, that I will not say positively ’tis the finest, but ’tis so fine I have not words to describe it.”

Handel's famous “magic opera” Alcina is a jewel both among Handel's works and among Baroque operas altogether.