Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »
Sat 02 Feb 2009Love and laughter in the air
There’s more to Handel than ‘Messiah’– a new production of his comic opera ‘Xerxes’, opening in Dublin today, shows another facet of the great composer, writes EILEEN BATTERSBY
KING XERXES IS singing to a tree, Ombra mai fu, one of the loveliest arias in all opera. Not that he is crazy – he merely has a great deal on his mind. Though obsessed, manipulative, cunning, potentially dangerous and intent on his brother Arsamene’s beloved, Xerxes is no fool. After all, he has constructed a bridge out of his own ships to facilitate his invasion of Athens.
Choose a Subscription type - required
