Abstract
«How bearable pain would be, if a lover could only fall in and out of love at his leisure», sings Serse. This is the sound of true despair, coming from a ruler (the historic King Xerxes) who is used to getting everything he desires. But love, as Serse realizes with anguish, has its own set of rules. Of all people he might fall in love with, it is Romilda, the girlfriend of his brother Arsamene, whom Serse has banished from his kingdom. As a result, all the characters in this work, which is full of intrigue and misunderstandings, undergo a painful process of self-realization. They are confronted with the entire emotional spectrum of anger, grief and jealousy – but also with the greatest bliss of love.
Serse is one of the last operas Händel wrote before he turned entirely to writing oratorios. It is one of his most experimental and fantastical works of music theater. This production is from Nina Russi, who brought Händel’s tragic comedy to the stage of the Theater Winterthur last year with the members of the International Opernstudio. Russi transformed this turbulent family drama into a modern-day telenovela – the NZZ praised the new production as «a colorful and successful translation into the present day». Alongside Christoph Dumaux (Arsamene), Anna El-Khashem (Romilda), Miriam Kutrowatz (Atalanta), Gregory Feldmann (Elviro) and Miklós Sebestyén (Ariodate), this revival features two voices new to Zurich: Italian countertenor Raffaele Pe appears in the title role, and will open the evening with Händel’s famous aria «Ombra mai fu»; and alto Noa Beinart sings the part of Serse’s ex-fiancée Amastre. The Italian conductor and Baroque violinist Enrico Onofri makes his debut leading the Orchestra La Scintilla, which will play on period instruments.