Back in the nineteenth century, humorist Edward Lear wrote in his Nonsense Alphabet the following verse for the letter "X:" "X was King Xerxes, whom Papa much wished to know; but this he could not do, because Xerxes died long ago." Much of the same condition can be applied to
George Frideric Handel's 1738 opera about Xerxes, properly referred to in Italian as Serse. It is known by one very famous excerpt, the Largo or Ombrai mai fu, but as an integral unit the three-act opera has seldom demonstrated much staying power in the active catalog or the operatic repertory. The few recordings of Serse -- admittedly a mixed bag -- have disappeared quickly and without a trace.
Finally,
William Christie and
Les Arts Florissants have brought Serse on the Virgin Veritas imprint and it is as satisfying as anyone would desire. Mezzo soprano
Anne-Sofie von Otter portrays the title role along with a stellar cast that includes
Sandrine Piau,
Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz, and Giovanni Furlanetto. The orchestral complement under
Christie is lean and mean, and the zippy pacing of the overall opera leads to a result that does not drag, a noticeable improvement over prior sets of Serse. The recording is live, but is of outstanding sound quality; only very occasionally does one hear footfalls or other types of distractions resulting from the stage environment at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.
This is an entirely satisfactory representation of Serse and one of the very best opera sets produced in all of 2004. Serse comes with an attractive and generously illustrated 187-page booklet with all photos in color, plus the complete libretto for this three-act work given in Italian, English, and French.