Lucia Cirillo is a suitably bewitching Alcina...Luigi Schifano’s Ruggiero is the pick of the countertenors – tone focused but never pushed…while Konstantin Derri is a tidy, prettily sung Medoro. In this sea of alto voices Loriana Castellano’s Bradamante also stands out, her delivery crisp, her tone pleasantly grainy and full of character...Fasolis and I Barocchisti provide efficient accompaniment, greatly enhanced by the rhetorical flair and wit of Fasoli’s own continuo-playing.

The title role is commandingly taken by Sonia Prina, dramatically excellent in Orlando’s madness and still capable of precise articulation in extended passaggi. But excessive vibrato has now become a problem and the voice is less secure than it once was….I Barocchisti play well under the characteristically idiosyncratic direction of Diego Fasolis.