Which opera seria by Handel was created first, Orlando or Alcina?
Alcina Alcina (HWV 34) is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of "L'isola di Alcina", an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after during his travels in Italy. Partly altered for better conformity, the story was originally taken from Ludovico Ariosto's "Orlando furioso" (like those of the Handel operas "Orlando" and "Ariodante"), an epic poem. The opera contains several musical sequences with opportunity for dance: these were composed for dancer Marie Sallé.
Euridice (Caccini) Euridice is an opera in a prologue and one act by the Italian composer Giulio Caccini. The libretto, by Ottavio Rinuccini, had already been set by Caccini's rival Jacopo Peri in 1600. Caccini's version of "Euridice" was first performed at the Pitti Palace, Florence on 5 December 1602. Caccini hurriedly prepared the score for the press and published it six weeks before Peri's version appeared.