had to be postponed due to the death of Queen Caroline. Handel composed the funeral music for her, and there also was a period of mourning. After the failure of Faramondo, Handel premiered an altogether different kind of opera. Serse is a comedy. It has buffo elements in the plot, in the musical style, and in the cast of characters. Elviro is a buffo bass role, an old servant who is central to the mismanagement of Serse's love affair, and who is responsible for some of the comic situations that evolve around the love plots. The opera Serse confused audiences and critics alike. Some called it an opera buffo, others a farce, and Burney even thought it the product of a "diseased" mind. It was a bigger flop even than Faramondo, although it has been revived for the modern operatic theater. Some of the music is exquisite, however. The beautiful love lyric "Ombra mai fù" later became renowned as an instrumental piece, and the duets in the opera are imaginative, individual, and original.
Serse is very unusually constructed for a Handel opera; half of the arias are not cast in the usual da capo form. There are several duets and important extended scenes involving linked numbers and recitativo accompagnato. The opera opens with an offstage aria by Romilda, accompanied by recorders, in an extended scene during which Serse becomes enamored of her. Another extended scene in Act Two has the comic servant Elviro singing a song in which he imitates the calls of street vendors. It is in this scene that he misdelivers an important love letter, thus setting the stage for many of the comic scenes to follow. Act Two is also livened by two unusual duets. In the second, the two male leads sing about their jealousy in asides to the audience. Only at the very close of this comical number do the two voices sing together. Even the argument written in the audiences' wordbook to explain the opera's plot is laced with irony and humor. In wit and feeling, this opera has been compared to Le nozze di Figaro and Così fan tutte of Mozart. ~ Rita Laurance, All Music Guide
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| Classicool: La musique qui rafraichit, Vol. 2 |
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| Highlights of Classical Music: Georg Frideric Handel |
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| Kathleen Ferrier [Box Set] |
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| La Storia dell'Opera [Box Set] |
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| La Storia dell'Opera, Vol. 1: Famous Scenes |
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| Le Grandi Voci Italiane, Vol. 7 |
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| Masters of the Opera, 1642-1843, Vol. 1-5 (Box Set) |
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| Recital |
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| Recital Vol. 2 |
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1999 |
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| Sacred Songs: The Ultimate Collection |
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1996 |
| Silver Screen Classics, Vol. 9 |
1995 |
| Silver Screen Classics, Vols. 1-10 |
1995 |
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2007 |
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2001 |
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2001 |
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| The Classic 100, Vol. 2 |
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| The Classical Brit Awards 2007 |
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| The Complete Recordings, Vol. 12 |
2004 |
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| The Gardens of Birr Castle Demesne |
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1999 |
| The Great Female Pianists, Vol. 4: Guiomar Novaes |
1992 |
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| The Great Polish Bass in Opera, Oratorio and Song |
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2003 |
| The Magic Of The Pan Pipes |
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| The Magic of Wunderlich [Includes Bonus DVD] |
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| The Most Relaxing Classical Music in the World...Ever! |
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2002 |
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2000 |
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2008 |
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| The Ultimate Aria Collection |
1998 |
| The Ultimate Classics: Opera Highlights |
2004 |
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2001 |
| The Ultimate Most Relaxing Classics for Kids in the Universe |
2007 |
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1992 |
| The Ultimate Wedding Album |
1997 |
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| The Ultimate Wedding Album [Syle] |
2006 |
| The Very Best of Beniamino Gigli |
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| The Very Best of Classical Music |
2000 |
| The Very Best of Franco Corelli |
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| The Very Best of Fritz Wunderlich |
2003 |
| The Very Best of Handel |
2005 |
| The Very Best of Lucia Popp |
2003 |
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2002 |
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| The World of Kathleen Ferrier |
1990 |
| The World's Greatest Composers: Handel [Collector's Edition Music Tin] |
2008 |
| The World's Greatest Composers: Handel [Collector's Edition] |
2008 |
| The World's Greatest Tenors |
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| The World's Very Best Opera for Kids...in English! |
2003 |
| These You Have Loved, Vol. 2 |
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| This Is Angel 1999 |
1999 |
| Tito Schipa |
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| Tito Schipa Favourites |
1999 |
| Tito Schipa Recordings 1924 - 1937 |
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| Tito Schipa in Opera and Song (Box Set) |
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| Tito Schipa: Public Performances 1913/1938 |
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| Total Classics |
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| Truly Domingo |
2006 |
| Trumpet of Freedom |
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| Tågen letter |
2008 |
| UNICEF-Gala |
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| Ultimate Classical Dreams [Box Set] |
2009 |
| Ultimate Classics [Box Set] |
2006 |
| Ultimate Classics: The Most Beloved Music from the Most Popular Composers [Box Set] |
2005 |
| Universal Musician |
2006 |
| Victorian Vision |
2001 |
| Viva Enrico Caruso: 25 Great Opera Arias & Songs |
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| Vocal Music Of The 16th-18th Centuries |
1999 |
| Vogue España: Selección Música de Cine |
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| Webster Booth: Handel Arias; Operatic Arias |
1998 |
| Wedding Album [Premium] |
1998 |
| Wedding Essentials |
2006 |
| Welsh Voice |
2008 |
| Wendy Hoffman |
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| West Point Classics |
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| Where Shall I Fly |
1995 |
| World of the Castrati |
1995 |
| À Voix Haute: L'héritage des Castrats |
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| Æterna |
2006 |
| Édition du 75ème Anniversaire |
2008 |
| Éva Marton with the New York Harp Ensemble |
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| Ópera de la A a la Z |
2000 |
