Volere Troppo

Serse is a light and elegant comedy. It opens with the most famous of all Handel's arias, the notorious “Ombre mai fu“ (or Largo), quite a different piece when heard in context. Its mock solemnity sets the tone for what follows. The opera moves swiftly and charmingly, the recitatives often interspersed with brief ariosos rather than full-fledged arias. Outstanding in the cast is Hendricks, her voice flexible and distinctive, clearer and purer than it would become (after the tone began to unknit). She sings with great charm. Watkinson is a fluent Serse but doesn't leave a lasting impression. Oddly enough, I enjoyed Esswood's work more.

Led by Damien Guillon, twenty musicians (including six violins, two violas and a basso continuo) from the Banquet Céleste Ensemble fill the abbey Saint-Robert with a full and joyous sound. As is tradition at the festival, a few moments before the sacred opera, an instrumentalist plays the Ave Maris Stella, a piece for organ. This baroque masterpiece is based on the life, trials and tribulations of Mary Magdalene, which is brilliantly interpreted by the soprano Emmanuelle de Negri. Conductor and soloist, counter-tenor Damien Guillon ensures that the instrumentalists don’t overwhelm the ghostly singing in the delicate atmosphere.