Handel-Xerxes - Overture and "Ombra mai fu" - Ann Murray

1.credits and overture

2."May the Fates be kind under thy shade"

3."listen! They are playing such sweet music"

"Oh hark--Oh hark, all ye wounded" (part)


yes, it's done in English translation

"Some imbecilities, and the temerity of Xerxes (such as his being deeply enamour'd with a plane tree, and the building a bridge over the Hellespont to unite Asia to Europe) are the basis of the story," says the introduction to the original libretto. "The rest is fiction."

by Georg Friedrich Händel

Category:

Music

Tags:

• serse
• xerxes
• Handel
• Haendel
• opera
• baroque
• Händel
• aria

[pedrovski10]

More Operas should be sung in the vernacular as they were in the past, their popularity would increae dramatically.

[TheCasTex]

15 people don't have ears.

[isaba]

True, operas were in Italian. But as long as I remember, there were also early translations around the '50s of the XVIII. I remember now the case of Pergolesi's 'La serva padrona' translated and adapted into French.

[amrascarpathia]

@pedrovski10 Actually, operas were first ONLY in Italian, as it was the "language of opera". Therefore, operas weren't really translated. Librettists just began to write operas in the vernacular some time later. In fact, Mozart was one of the firsts to highly popularize operas in the language of the people. In his own particular case, it was German, and people still gave him crap about it. I think there is art in the classical librettos as they are. I'm game for new ones, though. =)

[dansimmons21]

@bmbenblog Yes

[RLZGA]

Ann Murray ... Grandiosa....PERO.............­.la version original 1000 veces mejor que la traducida. Mi humilde opinion.

[bmbenblog]

Was Xerxes originally a castrati role?

[ibisvogl]

Lovely voice, marvelous artist, amazing personality, thats Ann Murray !!!!

[Creissels]

They used a beautiful English translation, following the superb tradition of English National Opera which has opened opera to an enthusiastic audience in London for many years. Of course the Italian is gorgeous too, but sometimes accessibility matters. We saw this at the Colisseum. Ravishing, witty and such a visual treat.

[jazzmunky]

@jazzmunky in other words the "poshness" of the accent is in a sense apt given the setting of the opera, but it is irritating for subjective reasons (not entirely justifiable outside of personal irritation). To conclude, it sounds better in Italian.

On second thoughts I can't really sustain this argument...

[jazzmunky]

Oh no! It's in English! I prefer Italian. Opera in English is sung with a posh accent. Italian is, relative to me, more neutral, though the same issue may apply for Italians too. Obviously the story is set in a specific period with alternate "poshness" - but the accents destroys any sympathy I might have for the characters. It adds a localized aura of yah-yah poshos.This is my prejudice rooted in UK culture, I can't undo it - it's like trying to imagine Justin Beiber as a "cante jondo" singer.

[inna999inna]

I love her voice!!!