Opera by Francesco Cavalli
Music Direction Grant Herried
Stage Direction Ethan Heard
“Amante non è chi cede al furor d’irata Fortuna. Chi teme il dolore amante non è.”
He is not a lover who yields to the fury of irate Fortune. He is not a lover who fears pain
On the eve of his historic invasion of Europe, Xerse is distracted by love. The audacious construction of the ship-bridge over the Hellespont provides an undercurrent of anticipation over which play the desperate passions of sibling rivalry, authoritarian high-handedness, political intrigue, and a great reckoning with Fortune. Will the impulsive king of the Persian Empire get what he wants, or what is coming to him?
Brother against brother, sister against sister: it’s all in the (disfunctional) family.