Opera in 3 Acts, 1738 - Music Georg Friedrich Haendel – Libretto Niccolo Minato and Silvio Stampiglia
Opéra de Rouen Normandie (March 2023) - Staatstheater Nürnberg (October 2018)
« Every sorrow would be light, if a lover could always love or unlove at will. » - Serse, Act 3
CAST
Music direction, David Bates
Staging, Scenic design, Costume design, Jean-Philippe Clarac & Olivier Deloeuil
Collaboration for Scenic design, Christophe Pitoiset
Artistic collaboration, Lodie Kardouss
Lighting, Rick Martin
Video, Julien Roques & Benjamin Juhel
Graphic design, Julien Roques
Dramaturgy, Luc Bourrousse
Jake Arditti (Serse), Jakub Josef Orlinski (Arsamene), Mari Eriksmoen (Romilda), Sophie Junker (Atalanta), Luigi di Donato (Ariodate), Cecilia Molinari (Amastre), Riccardo Novaro (Elviro)
PRODUCTION
Staatstheater Nürnberg, Opéra de Rouen Normandie
ABOUT
Two brothers, two sisters, but only one love story, that of Romilda and Arsamene, threatened on one hand by an elder brother as formidable as he is powerful, and on the other one by a younger sister all the more dangerous for being a coquette…
Add another relentless lover, a clueless father and a fanciful accomplice, and you have all the ingredients of a frenetic romantic comedy. Everyone runs after and from everyone else, going through all the locations in the Land of Tendre on their way, from the sea of Enmity to the river of Gratitude.
Subtly carried through these emotionnal meanderings by Handel’s enchanting music, the idle and rambuctious youths embark on a journey of self-discovery, following paths criss-crossing as so many skateboarding runs.
The initiation of Serse and his crew takes place in the heart of the city: the skatepark provides a space where everyone can freely express her- or himself, and even try on new personas or identities through cross-dressing, as Amastre and Elviro do. And of course, as in any self-respecting romantic comedy, it all leads to a happy ending: just roll with it!
