Hercules: Komische Oper Berlin
About the Event
Experience opera like never before in this astonishing performance of Händel's masterwork at Berlin's remarkable Komische Oper Berlin.
Love, jealousy and a murder against one's will are the ingredients of a decidedly dramatic oratorio by George Frideric Handel. After Semele, Barrie Kosky stages Handel's story about the deadly power of jealousy as a parable of human weakness.
At the center of the action is not the title character Hercules, but his wife Dejanira. Waiting for her beloved Hercules to return from his conquests has driven her almost mad. When he finally returns home, Dejanira cannot believe that her husband has brought Iole, the daughter of the defeated king, to their home court without any ulterior motives. Dejanira's jealousy is groundless, but she tries to win back her husband's love — which she never lost! — with a gift. The precious robe, however, which a centaur has foisted upon her, is poisoned and Hercules suffers an agonizing death. Dejanira's and Hercules' son Hyllus, on the other hand, finds great happiness in his love for Iole.
The planned premiere of Hercules in the spring of 1745 was ill‐fated. Handel quickly wrote several arias for a suddenly available star alto, but she dropped out at the premiere due to illness. After the colleague who stood in for the recitatives was also hoarse, no one could follow the tragic story. The premiere was a flop. It was not until the 19th century that the dramatic power of the work was rediscovered for the stage. With Hercules, director Barrie Kosky devotes himself to another of Handel's oratorios that are rarely staged in this country. In his production, which grows entirely out of the magnificent music, he makes the work sparkle in all its equally grandiose and deeply human facets.
Cast / Production
Musical direction: David Bates
Production: Barrie Kosky
Stage design and costumes: Katrin Lea Tag
Dramaturgy: Johanna Wall
Choirs: David Cavelius
Lighting: Joachim Klein
Scenic rehearsal: Tobias Ribitzki
Hercules: Brandon Cedel
Dejanira: Paula Murrihy
Iole: Penny Sofroniadou
Hyllus: Caspar Singh
Lichas: Susan Zarrabi
Priest of Jupiter: Noam Heinz
Chorus: Choral Soloists of the Komische Oper Berlin
