Production team for Early Opera
Historical staging of Early Opera.
Research, Productions & Training.

Action! Action! Action!
Il Corago offers promoters, ensembles, festivals and opera houses a unique resource for productions of early opera. We provide stage and/or musical direction, and as much (or as little) production back-up as you require, from advice on repertoire, preparing editions, costume and set design & construction, to singers, actors, continuo- players, technical assistants, and artist management.
Paradoxically, Historical Action often strikes today's audiences as very 'new', very 'modern'.
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Nowadays, when almost every other production attempts to 'update' old material, a genuinely historical production is refreshingly radical,
and allows the universal appeal of great works of the past to speak for itself.
Singing to the golden continuo-instrument,
I 'm accustomed to flatter mortal ears any time,
But in this style, with the powerful harmony
of the Music of the Spheres
I can even move your souls.

Monteverdi L'Orfeo (1607), freely translated
Who or what was the original Il Corago?
Read about the 17th-century manuscript here.
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Il Corago
Early Opera in the 21st century
Our philosophy is to combine the latest research into Historical Acting with long experience in Early Music and a thoroughly practical approach to project organisation, rehearsals and production.
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We work efficiently within the available budget to create shows that surprise and delight audiences, surpassing their expectations.
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Our priorities are the true essentials of drama: an actor, a space, an audience.
Add a continuo-player, let the actor 'recite in song', and you have the essence of Early Opera. Of course, it's wonderful to add spectacular scenery and beautiful costumes if the budget allows, and we can help you spend your money wisely.
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We respect Caccini's 1601 priorities for music:
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La favela, e'l ritmo, & il suono per ultimo,
e non per lo contrario
Story-telling, rhythm, and sound last of all - and not the other way around!
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and we follow Shakespeare's advice for the Action:

​Suit the Action to the Word...
pronounce the speech trippingly on the tongue...
do not saw the air too much with your hand...
be not too tame neither!
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But our highest priority is the Audience - we are not on stage to express our emotions, our purpose is to move your Passions:

Io su cetera d'or cantando soglio
mortal orrechio lusinghar tal ora,
E in questa guisa a l'armonia sonora
de la lira del ciel piu l'alme invoglio.

Quintilian's 1st century advice to orators was still followed around the year 1600, by Shakespeare's actors in London, and in Italy by the singers of the first operas.