1625 opera – first ever by a woman – to be performed March 23 at UCLA Clark Library

Ashna Madni | March 12, 2025

An upcoming performance at the UCLA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first opera ever written by a woman.

Francesca Caccini’s “La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’Isola di Alcina (The Liberation of Ruggiero from the Island of Alcina)” premiered in 1625 in the gardens of the Villa del Poggia Imperiale in Florence, Italy. On March 23, the opera — and a collection of rare 17th-century texts and artifacts housed at the Clark — will come to life for a Los Angeles audience. 

The performance, co-presented by the UCLA Center for 17th- and 18th-Century Studies, will feature the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music’s Early Music Ensemble and L.A. Camerata, a professional ensemble devoted to works by early modern women. 

In truth, the claim that “La liberazione” is the first opera by a woman is a matter of scholarly debate: Some researchers classify it as a work of musical theater. But Marylin Winkle, a School of Music lecturer who is directing the performance, advocates for its classification as an opera.

“Our earliest operas were not called ‘operas’ in their own time; they were called ‘tragedies in music’ or ‘comedies in music,’” she said. “‘La liberazione’ is a major work of musical drama that is staged and substantial in length. By that definition, it is absolutely an opera, making this the first opera by a woman composer. Caccini deserves credit and recognition for that.” 

The March 23 performance will be staged on the East Lawn of the Clark Library.

The opera depicts a power struggle between two women — demigoddess Melissa and sorceress Alcina — as they battle over Ruggiero and an entire island of enchanted lovers. The story is based on events from Ludovico Ariosto’s “Orlando Furioso,” the epic poem that also inspired George Frideric Handel’s “Alcina,” an arguably more famous opera than Caccini’s. 

Winkle said listeners who are familiar with “Alcina” will notice some distinctive features of the Caccini work. “A key difference between the two operas is that in Caccini’s, women get much more stage time and so many more lines,” she said.

The performance will take place outdoors at the Clark, as part of the Arts on the Grounds series. 

“Arts on the Grounds allows people to visit the Clark and learn more about the music heritage, and other artistic heritage, that the Clark can help teach,” said Carla Pestana, director of the Center for 17th- & 18th-Century Studies and the Clark Library, and UCLA’s Joyce Appleby Professor of America in the World. “Hosting the 400th anniversary performance of Caccini’s opera furthers our outreach to the wider Los Angeles community with events that interest people who study these areas as well as those who are just curious to know more.”

Winkle said staging the work outdoors in an interactive setting, like the original, has been a dream of hers since she began studying the opera in 2015.

Caccini’s 1625 staging, in the gardens of a Medici villa, concluded with a ballet for horses and riders in which everyone — the players and audience members alike — were invited to the courtyard to watch the spectacle and even mount their own horses to join in the ballet. The Clark production won’t incorporate horses, but it will aim to replicate the immersive spirit of the original, with musicians and audience members moving throughout the grounds of the Clark. 

A drawing of the set for one of the scenes in “La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’Isola di Alcina,” taken from a 1998 printing of the score.

In addition, rather than relying on supertitles to translate the libretto for the audience, the production will feature a muse to provide an English narration before each scene. The approach, Winkle said, is intended to allow audience members to stay more focused on the action.

Before the performance, the audience will be invited into the Clark for an exhibition of rare texts connected to Caccini’s story and musical community. Among them are copies of “Orlando Furioso” and its 1607 English translation, the score for “Alcina,” and the score for “L’Adamo,” an oratorio composed in 1613 for the owner of the villa where Caccini’s opera premiered. 

The performance, which will take place during Women’s History Month and Early Music Month, is co-sponsored by the Colburn Foundation, which also supports the Center for 17th- and 18th-Century Studies. 

The event is free and open to the public, but advance registration on the event website is required.