Review - Xerxes (Handel), Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Webcast

Xerxes: Valer Sabadus
Arsamene: Terry Wey
Amastre: Kataina Bradic
Aridoate: Toben Jürgens
Romilda: Heidi Elisabeth Meier
Atalanta: Anke Krabbe
Elviro: Hagen Matzeit

Chorus of Deutsche Oper am Rhein
Neue Düsseldorfer Hofmusik
Konrad Junghänel (conductor)
Stefan Herheim (director)

Serse is well known by the opening aria 'ombra mai fu', though arguably I found the music less memorable than other Handel's operas like Alcina, Rinaldo and Giulio Cesare. Most arias were short and towards functional. The plot is also complicated and more twisted than a triangle love saga. The jealous royal brothers, Xerxes and Arsamene, fought against each other for the hand of Romilda, who also quarrelled with her sister Atalanta for Arsamene. Amastre disguised as a soldier in the camp of Ariodate and awaited patiently to regain the affection of Xerxes.

Instead of highlighting the vicious and fiery character, Herheim's staging presented the opera from a humorous approach and amused the audience with baroque gestures. The elaborate costumes of gold and red feathers wore by Xerxes with erotic cock piece made an over the top impression. The clumsy outlook and exaggerated behaviours of Ariodate and Elviro recalled those scandalous characters in Hogarth's The Rake Progress. Atalanta's attempts on encouraging a furious Xerxes to execute Romilda by gun and arrow shootings, canon firing and stabbing was the most entertaining part of the evening.

Herheim's approach made the acts of bloody quarrel and sexual advance a light hearted affairs than the emotional seriousness that it could have been. The employment of a rotating stage with one being the main elaborate platform flanked by two side stages also made a spectacle of stage machinery. Elaborate period scenic designs made the reference to the baroque stage technique, whereas the dramaturgy with exaggeration kept the interest on.

The boyish looking Valer Sabadus portrayed Serse as the patronising ruler who had no sympathy towards the others. His tessitura was comfortable in the high vocal range with a pretty timbre that very much ideal for lyrical arias such as the ombra mai fu. Though compare to other singers, his vocal body was relatively small and lacked the dramatic rigour in "Crude Furie degl' orridi abissi". Another countertenor, Terry Wey, sang in a more forward vocal style. He singing carried more emotion and urgency to the vocal colour.

I rather enjoyed the full bodied mezzo singing from Kataina Bradic that had the projection and vocal excitement. Like Terry Wey, Heidi Elisabeth Meier and Anke Krabbe were more forward in their vocal style, which suited to the sisters' fighting spirit and their exaggerated actions. Toben Jürgens and Hagen Matzeit gave the humorous portrayal of their characters effectively. Under the direction of Konrad Junghänel, the Neue Düsseldorfer Hofmusik injected much instrumental excitement and momentum to the rather not so elaborate music scoring. They clearly enjoyed the theatrical interaction with the singers and made this production a success in all way.