Tickets for Friday evening are no longer on sale but can still be purchased on the door with cash

Sidney Sussex College Music Society is excited to present what is considered to be the 'first opera composed by a woman', Francesca Caccini's 'La liberazione di Ruggiero', premiered in 1625.

Watch a battle between two sorceresses unfold onstage as Alcina and Melissa fight for the affection of the warrior Ruggiero. He is being held captive on an island by Alcina, who has bewitched him into believing he loves her, despite being betrothed to another maiden. However, the moralistic Melissa arrives on the island disguised as Ruggiero’s former mentor, the wizard Atlante. She is determined to remind Ruggiero of his duty both as a lover and a knight. As the two sorceresses battle for the knight’s body and soul, who will succeed…

Conducted by Carlos Rodríguez Otero and directed by Grace Cunningham and Anna Morgan, some of the University of Cambridge's finest singers and instrumentalists come together for three performances of this magnificent work.