SerseGAËLLE ARQUEZLAWRENCE ZAZZO ELIZABETH SUTPHEN LOUISE ALDER TANJA ARIANE BAUMGARTNERBRANDON CEDEL

FRANKFURTER OPERN- UNDMUSEUMSORCHESTERConducted by CONSTANTINOS CARYDIS

Staged by TILLMANN KÖHLER

OPER FRANKFURT

G E O R G E F R I D E R I C H A N D E L

Serse is one of Handel’s latest and most frequently performed operas, famous for its marvellous opening aria “Ombra mai fu”, in which the protagonist declares his love to a plane tree. This historic piece about the romantic entanglements at the court of King Serse, staged at the Oper Frankfurt and conducted by Constantinos Carydis, features rising opera star Gaëlle Arquez in the title role of Serse.

The opera is a vicious persiflage about the longings, doubts, quirks and (self-)destructive megalomania of a ruler. At the centre of the confusing tragicomedy, very loosely based upon the life of Xerxes I of Persia, is a powerful and lovesick royal eccentric, King Serse. Engaged to Amastre, he strives to win over his brother Arsamene’s beloved Romilda. Love, envy and jealousy, wrongly delivered letters and misleading promises provoke all kinds of confusion – “a soap opera of the upper class with all of its threats and intrigues” (FAZ).

Gaëlle Arquez “scintillates with her nimble, luminous mezzo-soprano”, singing “irresistibly beautiful, impassioned, furious – but never mean” (Frankfurter Rundschau). Counter-tenor Lawrence Zazzo, expertised in baroque singing, imbodies a powerful Arsamene, “agile and expressive, […] disposing of various nuances” (FAZ). Elisabeth Sutphen as Romilda, Louise Alder as Atlanta and Tanja Ariane Baumgartner as Amastre complete this colourful and passionate “singers’ competition with only winners” (Frankfurter Neue Presse).

Frankfurt’s excellent Opern- and Museumsorchester contributes “all sorts of refinements” to this “musical smash hit” (Deutschlandfunk). All in all, the “spectacular staging” by Tilmann Köhler offers completely “new ways of hearing and seeing Handel” (FAZ).

Length: approx 180’ Cat. no. A 050 50409

A production of UNITEL in co-production with NHK

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Orchestra Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester

Conductor Constantinos Carydis

Stage Director Tillmann Köhler

Serse Gaëlle ArquezArsamene Lawrence Zazzo

Romilda Elizabeth SutphenAtalanta Louise AlderAmastre Tanja Ariane BaumgartnerAriodate Brandon Cedel

Elviro Thomas Faulkner

Produced by MetisfilmVideo Director Tiziano Mancini

SerseG E O R G E F R I D E R I C H A N D E L

(Xerxes)

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Unitel GmbH & Co. KG, Germany · Tel. +49.89.673469-630 · info@unitel.de www.unitel.de