Bradamante (disguised as her brother Ricciardo) is shipwrecked with her guide Melisso on the island of the sorceress Alcina. She is determined to find and rescue her betrothed Ruggiero, who has fallen under the sorceress’s spell. They encounter Morgana, Alcina’s sister, who is instantly drawn to the handsome Ricciardo. Suddenly Alcina’s beautiful palace is revealed where they find Ruggiero completely enthralled with Alcina, with no memory of his previous life. Alcina welcomes the strangers and allows them to stay.
Alone with Ruggiero, his friends try to reason with him and remind him of his engagement to Bradamante, but his only thoughts are of Alcina. Oronte, Alcina’s guard, is furious at Morgana’s being in love with Ricciardo. He challenges Bradamante (Ricciardo) to a duel. Morgana intervenes, sparing Bradamante but further enraging Oronte as she is adamant she no longer wants to be with him.
A bitter and angry Oronte encounters Ruggiero. Determined to poison his blissful happiness, he tells him about the fate of Alcina’s former lovers being turned into wild beasts. When Ruggiero refuses to believe him, Oronte invents a romance between Alcina and Ricciardo. Overcome with jealousy, Ruggiero confronts Alcina, but she reassures him of her love. Increasingly distressed by events, Bradamante confesses her true identity to Ruggiero. But when Melisso quickly denies it to protect her, Ruggiero is confused.
Morgana arrives and warns Bradamante (Ricciardo) that Alcina plans to turn him into an animal to prove her devotion to Ruggiero and begs him to flee, but Ricciardo refuses, telling her that he loves someone on the island and must stay. Morgana leaves ecstatic, convinced that she is Ricciardo’s beloved.
Disguised as Atlante, Ruggiero’s former tutor, Melisso gives Ruggiero a ring which finally shows Ruggiero the truth: Alcina’s island is fake. Ruggiero is reminded of his former life and love. Melisso advises Ruggiero to keep his new knowledge a secret, and continue pretending to love Alcina until he can escape under the pretext of going hunting. Bradamante reveals her true identity to Ruggiero, but he believes that she is just another of Alcina’s enchantments. Confused, he no longer knows what is real and what is not.
Unsure of Ruggiero’s love, Alcina is determined to win it once and for all by transforming Ricciardo into an animal, but she is interrupted by an ardent Ruggiero who manages to persuade her against it. Ruggiero asks Alcina permission to go hunting and she grants it. Oronte enters with news of Ruggiero and Ricciardo’s plot. Alcina plots revenge, summoning the spirits to torment her new enemy.
INTERMISSION
Morgana pleads for the spurned Oronte’s love once again. She refuses to believe Ruggiero’s deceitfulness until she sees him and Bradamante together with her own eyes. Alcina confronts Ruggiero. But he is adamant in his love for Bradamante, and her despair reaches new depths. News that her enchantments and magical forces have been completely defeated by her enemies is another cruel blow. When Ruggiero destroys the source of Alcina’s magic, her defeat is complete. All spells are broken and across the island all her lovers are once again human. Love has triumphed over magic.
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