Händel's musical genius and the fantastical story from Orlando furioso, the epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto that inspired the opera, made Alcina one of the most popular operas by the Saxon composer (alongside Ariodante and Orlando, which were also inspired by the same great literary work) performed in Covent Garden in 1735.

The story, which has echoes of Homer, features the sorceress Alcina, who draws the protagonists to her island to seduce them and turn them into part of the landscape; it shows Ruggiero and Bradamante's struggle to get rid of the evil witch, and continues to captivate audiences today with subtle metaphors on the illusions created by love and passion. In this adaptation by David Alden, who was making his début at the Teatro Real, Alcina's magical kingdom is the theatre itself, constructed with references to Hollywood, magazines and musical comedy. The seemingly happy ending when Ruggiero gets married to Bradamante in an entirely conventional way in a suburbs manages to inspire nostalgia for the theatrical world where the sorceress reigned.