If the Hungarian State Opera does not want to sink into the world of the "Verdi-Puccini dictatorship", it cannot pass up the Baroque, which is among the richest periods in the history of opera, said Hungarian State Opera Artistic Director Balázs Kovalik.
The opera will perform Xerxes - with a double cast with Andrea Meláth and Éva Várhelyi in the title role and Gabriella Fodor and Ingrid Kertesi as Romilda- on April 30 and May 15.
The opening aria of the opera, "Ombra mai fu", is well known as Handel's orchestral arrangement "Largo", Kovalik noted.
Though the opera was criticized early on by some for mixing comic elements with serious ones, Kovalik said he was committed to "bringing out the piece's grotesque and humorous threads." People say in city squares, in internet blogs, in chat rooms and in text messages "I love you", and "I'm leaving you" -- love is a game which has one rule: don't take it deathly seriously, Kovalik he added.
Xerxes was first performed in London in 1738, but was not staged afterward for almost 200 years until 1924, in Germany.
