It's Handel's first step in his move from the suddenly unpopular Italian opera seria. Oddly, he selects a historical figure with dramatic and tragic story, in a long ago period and location (Persia, 470 BC). But he replaces the amazing history of King Xerxes, his megalomaniac and autocratic wars and personal feuds, with a silly and entirely fanciful plot.
Never mind that this is the King whose troops bridged the Hellespont to cross it with allegedly 5 million troops, and who, when the bridge was broken by a storm, ordered that the waters be whipped in punishment. And then had built an engineering marvel of a pontoon bridge to cross to Greece – where his invasion failed. (Now there’s a plot for an opera seria! Full detail here.)
Not much of history occurs in the opera, though the Hellespont is bridged in Act 2. The only other accurate detail, improbably, is that Xerxes, returning from his disastrous aggression against Greece, revered and celebrated a plane tree. And also that the royal household was not a peaceful one. The real Xerxes deleted his brother’s entire family. In the opera, he merely tries for the brother’s fiancée (Romilda – the only other character whose name doesn’t start with ‘A’!). Xerxes’ attempt to banish his brother (Arsamene), and make the girl’s father (Ariodate) an offer he couldn’t refuse, is thwarted by several women, including Xerxes’ promised wife, (Amastre, a princess disguised as a man), and Rosilda’s sneaky sister (Atalanta).
Here’s an excerpt from a review of our production. “Confused? The role of Serse originally was sung by a castrato. As castrati are in short supply these days, Serse is sung by a woman in this production. Arsamene also is sung by a woman, as Handel apparently intended from the start. Furthermore, Amastre spends most of the opera disguised as a man! Things turn out well for everyone in the end… for everyone, that is, except for the tree, which Serse torches near the end of the opera in a fit of rage.”
The opera was a commercial failure, despite Handel’s bringing in the famous castrato, Gaetano Majorano (aka Caffarelli). Read about castrati. It lasted only 5 performances, damned because the music was too modern. In the 19th century, however, the opening aria, ‘Ombra mai fu’, was rediscovered and it’s still a favourite piece for countertenor or mezzo, often called Handel’s Largo. Here’s the words.Compare countertenors Andreas Scholl and Philippe Jaroussky . Here’s Cecilia Bartoli with a real tree. Our production has a mezzo - Paula Rasmussen.
Trivia items:
*this was the first song broadcast on public radio - the Canadian inventor Fessenden transmitted it in 1906.
*Paula Rasmussen left a brilliant opera career to train and practice law in California after 9/11. What would Xerxes have said?
*And what did he sing to the plane tree?
Frondi tenere e belle del mio platano amato per voi risplenda il fato. Tuoni, lampi, e procelle non v'oltraggino mai la cara pace, né giunga a profanarvi austro rapace. Ombra mai fu di vegetabile, cara ed amabile, soave più.
Tender and beautiful fronds of my beloved plane tree, let Fate smile upon you. May thunder, lightning, and storms never disturb your dear peace, nor may you by blowing winds be profaned. Never was a shade of any plant dearer and more lovely, or more sweet.
Lyn 6/6/22
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