Handel composed Alessandro in 1726 for the Royal Academy of Music in London. The libretto by Paolo Rolli was based on La Superbia d’Alessandro by Ortensio Mauro and the plot centres on Alexander the Great and his delusion that he is the son of Jupiter. Meanwhile, two women, Rossane et Lisaura, are competing for his love.
The story of the opera’s genesis is also intriguing: the title role was taken by the castrato Senesino while the two female roles were cast with Francesca Cuzzoni (Lisaura) and Faustina Bordoni (Rossane). When Bordoni first appeared in London, captivating the public and prompting the press to call her ‘the new Cuzzoni’, a famous war broke out between the two prima donnas and between their entourages. It reached a climax with Bononcini’s opera Astianate, which saw Cuzzoni and Bordoni attacking each other physically.
Alessandro: Max Emanuel Cencic *
Rosanne: Blandine Staskiewicz | Julia Lezhneva *
Lisaura: Karina Gauvin * | Dilyara Idrisova
Tassile: Xavier Sabata * | Nicholas Tamagna
Clito: Pavel Kudinov | In-sung Sim *
Leonato: Juan Sancho * | Sebastian Monti
Cleone: Vasily Khoroshev *
Musical director: George Petrou *
Orchestra: Armonia Atenea *
Stage director: Lucinda Childs
Set & costumes: Paris Mexis
* CD recording
