Handel's 1738 opera Serse (Xerxes) baffled audiences at first hearing with its mixture of tragedy and comedy, but that same mixture has resulted in the opera's steadily rising status in performance today. If you're maxed out on athletic opera seria performances, check it out: it has elements of a put-on of that genre. The plot is kicked off by Serse, the king of ancient Persia, praising a shade tree in the famous aria "Ombra mai fu," whose tune is also known as Handel's Largo. The role of Serse is written for a male ...
Read More
Handel's 1738 opera Serse (Xerxes) baffled audiences at first hearing with its mixture of tragedy and comedy, but that same mixture has resulted in the opera's steadily rising status in performance today. If you're maxed out on athletic opera seria performances, check it out: it has elements of a put-on of that genre. The plot is kicked off by Serse, the king of ancient Persia, praising a shade tree in the famous aria "Ombra mai fu," whose tune is also known as Handel's Largo. The role of Serse is written for a male countertenor (originally the castrato Caffarelli), who has to keep a level of seriousness as his character becomes involved in increasingly improbably romantic triangles. The key to any spoof is a veneer of seriousness, and if the liquid tones of countertenor Franco Fagioli in "Ombra mai fu" were not enough, then the edgy sound of the historical-instrument group Il Pomo d'Oro under director Maxim Emelyanychev will snare you for the rest. This is a studio recording but is closely based on a...
Read Less
Add this copy of Handel: Serse to cart. $49.98, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2018 by DG.
Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2024 Rovi Corporation.