Serse

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Work data
Title: Xerxes
Original title: Serse
Title page of the libretto, London 1738

Title page of the libretto, London 1738

Shape: Opera seria
Original language: Italian
Music: georg Friedrich Handel
Libretto : unknown
Literary source: Nicolò Minato , Il Xerse (1654) and Silvio Stampiglia (1694)
Premiere: April 15, 1738
Place of premiere: King's Theater , Haymarket, London
Playing time: 3 hours
Place and time of the action: on the Hellespont , around 480 BC Chr.
people
  • Serse , King of Persia ( soprano )
  • Arsamene , Serse's brother, Romilda's lover ( soprano )
  • Amastre , Serses bride, disguised as a man ( old )
  • Romilda, daughter of Ariodates, lover Arsamenes (soprano)
  • Atalanta, daughter of Ariodates, secretly in love with Arsamene (soprano)
  • Ariodate, Captain of the Serse ( bass )
  • Elviro, servant of Arsamenes (bass)
  • People, soldiers, sailors, priests
Xerxes I, from 486 to 465 BC Chr. Achaemenid Great King and Egyptian Pharaoh

Serse , German Xerxes ( HWV 40) is an opera ( Dramma per musica ) in three acts by Georg Friedrich Handel and, alongside Julius Caesar, one of the most frequently performed Handel operas in modern times.

Emergence

Cast of the premiere

The contemporary witness John Upton reports that the orchestra and choir were poorly occupied and the Earl of Shaftesbury writes to his cousin, the philosopher James Harris :

Xerxes is beyond all doubt a fine composition. The singers perform it very indifferently which is a great disadvantage to it; the airs too, for brevity's sake as the opera would otherwise be too long fall without any recitativ 'intervening from one into another that tis difficult to understand till it comes by frequent hearing to be well known. My own judgment is that it is a capital opera notwithstanding tis called a ballad one.

“ Xerxes is without a doubt a good composition. However, to their great disadvantage, the singers presented them very uniformly. For the sake of brevity, the arias also merged into one another without recitatives, since otherwise the opera would be too long, so that understanding is difficult or only comes about through frequent listening. My own judgment is that it is a fine opera regardless of the fact that it is called a ballad opera . "

- Earl of Shaftesbury : Letter to James Harris , London, May 4, 1738

action

first act

In a garden the Persian King Xerxes sings the praises of a plane tree ( ombra mai fù ). Xerxes brother Arsamene and his servant Elviro join them. Arsamene is actually looking for Romilda, whom he loves. Together they hear Romilda sing, and Xerxes, enthusiastic about her voice, wants to take Romilda as his wife. Arsamene reports this to Romilda to warn her of Xerxes' plans. Atalanta finds out and now she hopes that Romilda and Xerxes can marry and that she can start a relationship with Arsamene, whom she loves. When Xerxes realizes that Arsamene is his rival, he banishes him from the royal court. Xerxes then tries in vain to convince Romilda of his love for her.

Amastre, Xerxes' fiancée, comes disguised as a man to get an undetected picture of Xerxes. At the same time, General Ariodate, the father of Romilda and Atalanta, returns from the war with the Persian army. As a reward for his victories in the field, Xerxes promises Ariodate that his daughter Romilda will marry a man from the royal family. Ariodate thinks it is arsamene. As Arsamene goes into exile, Amastre realizes that Xerxes has turned away from her and spoke of himself when he promised Ariodate a husband for his daughter. Arsamene sends Elviro a letter to Romilda, in which he promises to visit her secretly. Meanwhile, Atalanta tries to shake Romilda's love for Arsamene and claims that he has a new lover - but Romilda sees through her sister.

Second act

In the market square, Amastre meets the servant Elviro, disguised as a florist. As the messenger of an exile, he would like to remain anonymous. Amastre learns from Elviro of the planned wedding between Xerxes and Romilda and is desperate. Then Atalanta comes to Elviro and Elviro reveals himself to her. Atalanta promises to deliver the letter to Romilda, and she claims that Romilda has fallen in love with Xerxes after all. Now Xerxes joins them, and Elviro quickly disappears so as not to be recognized. Xerxes notices the letter at Atalanta and demands to read it. He recognizes his brother's handwriting. Atalanta claims that the letter was addressed to her and that Arsamene actually loved her. Atalanta asks the king to intercede for her marriage to Arsamene. Xerxes now shows Romilda's letter as alleged evidence that Arsamene actually loves Atalanta. Romilda remains steadfast and continues to swear allegiance to Arsamene.

On the way to Arsamene, Elviro meets the desperate Amastre again and is barely able to keep her from suicide. Elviro then reports to Arsamene that (as he learned from Atalanta) Romilda now loves Xerxes. Arsamene is deeply disappointed with this news.

King Xerxes and General Ariodate are assembled with the army on the Hellespont, and Xerxes orders the general shortly to cross the newly built bridge to Europe. Then Xerxes meets his exiled brother and wants to bring him good news: he can now marry his true love, Atalanta. But Arsamene is angry and walks away. Xerxes now suspects that Atalanta lied to him. Xerxes meets Amastre, who pretends to be a wounded soldier. Romilda joins them, and Xerxes asks her again to marry him. Angry, Amastre intervenes, calls Xerxes a fraud and draws her sword. She is arrested by the royal guards, but Romilda is able to convince the guards to release her.

Third act

Romilda and Arsamene confront Atalanta, who confesses her lies and promises to look for another man. Xerxes is now again urging Romilda to marry him; Xerxes referred this to her father, who had to give his consent. Xerxes talks to his father Ariodate, who agrees to a wedding. Ariodate continues to think that Arsamene should be the spouse. The increasingly desperate Romilda now claims to Xerxes that she and Arsamene have already made love. Xerxes doesn't believe it, but still orders Arsamenes to be executed. Romilda asks Amastre for help. She is ready to warn Arsamene and in turn asks Romilda to deliver a letter from her to Xerxes. Romilda and Arsamene can meet again and get into an argument, because he believes she has betrayed him after all.

Ariodate lets Romilda and Arsamene come to the temple of the sun. To her pleasant surprise, Ariodate wed the two of them there, believing that this was in accordance with the agreement with the king. When Xerxes found out, he was beside himself. He is also given a letter that should come from Romilda. In the letter he is accused of treason. Even when it becomes clear that the letter is from Amastre, Xerxes cannot calm down. He tells Arsamene to slay Romilda with his sword. Now the still camouflaged Amastre intervenes and asks Xerxes whether treason should really be avenged. When Xerxes confirms this, Amastre reveals her identity as the fiancée of Xerxes herself and points her sword at him. Xerxes asks for forgiveness and confirms his engagement so that in the end Xerxes and Amastre as well as Romilda and Arsamene can be together.

Frondi tenere e belle… Ombra may fù sung by Enrico Caruso 1920.

Success and criticism

Friedrich Chrysander wrote the following in 1860, without knowing that Handel had at that time Bononcini's score from his Il Xerse (1694):

“In Handel's music, there appear small ariosis which, according to their composition, could have been written around 1700; presumably he used a composition of his text from earlier times, which then also provided the basis of the buffalo arias. The comic content of these chants cannot be ignored; but Handel ceases to be Handel here. Xerxes has a rather variegated reputation, but not the richness and originality of his best operas. "

- Friedrich Chrysander : GF Handel , Leipzig 1860

orchestra

Two recorders , two oboes , bassoon , two horns , trumpet , strings, basso continuo (violoncello, lute, harpsichord).

Discography (selection)

literature

swell

Web links

Commons : Serse  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Winton Dean : Handel's Operas, 1726-1741. Boydell & Brewer, London 2006. Reprint: The Boydell Press, Woodbridge 2009, ISBN 978-1-84383-268-3 , p. 443.
  2. ^ Friedrich Chrysander : GF Handel , second volume, Breitkopf & Härtel , Leipzig 1860, p. 448 f.