The enchantress Alcina uses her magical powers to lure lovers to her island, transforming them into animals once she tires of them. Her latest conquest, Ruggiero, remains under her spell until his fiancée, Bradamante, arrives disguised as a man to rescue him. As Alcina's sister Morgana becomes infatuated with the disguised Bradamante and jealousies intensify, Alcina's carefully constructed world of seduction and sorcery begins to unravel.

This revival returns Richard Jones's Olivier Award-winning production of George Frideric Handel's 1735 opera, featuring a libretto by Riccardo Broschi. Directed by Richard Jones (The Mastersingers, Hansel and Gretel), the production features designs by Antony McDonald, lighting by Lucy Carter, and movement direction by Sarah Fahie.

Originally composed for Covent Garden in 1735 and inspired by Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso, Alcina remains one of Handel's most celebrated operas. Jones's production emphasizes the work's fantastical elements through its visual world of magical transformations, with animal imagery and theatrical illusion underscoring the opera's themes of desire, deception, and enchantment.