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Xerxes is one of Handel's rare ventures into comedy, a parody of the amorous complexities, heroic posturing, and overwrought emotions of opera seria. The story is set in the Persian Empire around 475 B.C., and its central character, Emperor Xerxes I, is historic, though the story is emphatically not. It is a tangled plot, with a resemblance to many other baroque plots, except that it is not taken seriously. Xerxes and his brother Arsamene are both in love with the same woman, Romilda. She is in love with Arsamene, as is her sister Atalanta. The plot gets even more complicated when a love letter from Arsamene to Romilda falls into Atalanta's hands. In addition, Xerxes has been betrothed to Amastre but has rejected her. She comes on, intent on revenge and disguised as a man--a fact that may confuse viewers of this production because the role of Xerxes, composed for a castrato, is sung by a woman. Nicholas Hytner's staging not only accepts the plot's underlying absurdities, it revels in them and pushes them up to and beyond any logical conclusion. The opera is translated visually into postmodernism, as its text (originally in Italian) is translated into English. The sets and costumes evoke London society in Handel's lifetime, but there are also items from the ancient Persian Empire, most notably a giant green animal statue. The chorus and supernumeraries are made up to look like statues. The music includes some of Handel's best work, Sir Charles Mackerras conducts the modern-instrument orchestra with exemplary style, and the singers give dramatically effective performances. But this production stands or falls essentially on its visuals. Baroque purists and those who do not like nontraditional staging will prefer the BMG audio recording on period instruments sung in Italian and conducted by Nicholas McGegan. --Joe McLellan
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