Alcina
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Research by Hilary Alcock
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Artist F S Franchini
Artist dates 1793-1873 Medium Marble Size Height: bust 31 in, socle 12½ in, pedestal 41½ in Date produced 1889 Inscr: 'F:S: FRANCHINI/ Roma/1889' Donor Alderman J H Dawson Date donated 26 March 1956 Location St Annes Town Hall |
A white marble bust of Alcina by F S Franchini, dated 1889, her unkempt hair tied back and falling about her face and neck, her right breast exposed beneath an elaborate mantel, richly carved with masks and grotesques, a winged infant with cloven hooves upon her left shoulder,
titled 'Alcina' and signed and dated 'F:S: FRANCHINI/ Roma/1889'. She is displayed on a verde marble socle (supporting block/plinth), applied with a presentation tablet inscribed 'Presented by Ald J H Dawson, J.P., S.R.S.A, 26th March 1956', on an associated ebonised square fluted pedestal applied with ormolu pendants and mouldings.
Alcina by Handel
Alcina is an opera seria, an Italian style opera predominate in Europe circa 1710-1770. It was composed by George Frederic Handel and set in Rome in 1728. Alcina was a magician who put her craft to good use in the art of seduction; thanks to her illusory charms, she attracts knights to her islands, whom she then transforms into wild beasts or rocks. But at last the seductress is seduced. She falls in love with the knight, Ruggiero, in whom she erases all memories of his previous life. Caught in her own trap, Alcina is doomed to decline. Ruggiero abandons her and returns to the faithful Bradamante. Deprived of her magic spells, she is left only with her tears.
Drawing on the inexhaustible wealth of stories offered by Ariosto’s “Orlando Furioso”, Handel composed “Alcina” in 1735. In this work he is at the height of his creativity, finding renewed inspiration in the enchantments experienced by this tragic heroine. The opera contains several musical sequences with opportunity for dance; these were composed for dancer and choreographer, Marie Sallé.
REFERENCE
Handel-Acinia, (2015), The Opera Platform, available online @ http://www.theoperaplatform.eu/en/opera/handel-alcina
titled 'Alcina' and signed and dated 'F:S: FRANCHINI/ Roma/1889'. She is displayed on a verde marble socle (supporting block/plinth), applied with a presentation tablet inscribed 'Presented by Ald J H Dawson, J.P., S.R.S.A, 26th March 1956', on an associated ebonised square fluted pedestal applied with ormolu pendants and mouldings.
Alcina by Handel
Alcina is an opera seria, an Italian style opera predominate in Europe circa 1710-1770. It was composed by George Frederic Handel and set in Rome in 1728. Alcina was a magician who put her craft to good use in the art of seduction; thanks to her illusory charms, she attracts knights to her islands, whom she then transforms into wild beasts or rocks. But at last the seductress is seduced. She falls in love with the knight, Ruggiero, in whom she erases all memories of his previous life. Caught in her own trap, Alcina is doomed to decline. Ruggiero abandons her and returns to the faithful Bradamante. Deprived of her magic spells, she is left only with her tears.
Drawing on the inexhaustible wealth of stories offered by Ariosto’s “Orlando Furioso”, Handel composed “Alcina” in 1735. In this work he is at the height of his creativity, finding renewed inspiration in the enchantments experienced by this tragic heroine. The opera contains several musical sequences with opportunity for dance; these were composed for dancer and choreographer, Marie Sallé.
REFERENCE
Handel-Acinia, (2015), The Opera Platform, available online @ http://www.theoperaplatform.eu/en/opera/handel-alcina
