Tamerlano, the 17th of Handel's 46 operas, dates from the same year, 1724, as Giulio Cesare. Both of these masterpieces came near the middle of Handel's decade of greatest success, from 1718-1728. He was serving as one of the musical directors of the Royal Academy of Music and the public thirst for Italian-style operas was, at that time, insatiable. Tamerlano opened the sixth season at the Royal Academy of Music and received twelve performances during its initial run. It received another four performances when revived in 1731 at the King's Theatre. The first modern revival took place in 1924 at Karlsruhe.

Subject Matter in Brief: This opera's libretto, by Nicola Franesco Haym, was an adaptation of a libretto, Tamerlano, written by Agostin Piovene in 1711 and a 1719 revision of that libretto, called Bajazet, written by Ippolito Zanelli and Francesco Borosini. Piovene's libretto was, in turn, based on a 1675 play by Jacques Pradon entitled Tamerlan, ou La mort de Bajazet. The first version of Haym's libretto was based almost entirely on Piovene's 1711 libretto, but later revisions drew on the 1719 libretto. Since Francesco Borosini sang the part of Bajazet when Handel's opera premiered in 1724, it was undoubtedly Borosini who drew the attention of Handel and Haym to some of the advantages of the 1719 source material.

The Tatar ruler, Tamerlano has defeated the Ottoman Emperor, Bajazet. Bajazet contemplates suicide and is held back only by his love for his daughter, Asteria. Tamerlano, despite being engaged to Princess Irene, has fallen in love with Asteria. Tamerlano sends his loyal ally, Prince Andronico, to plead his cause with Asteria, promising him the throne of Greece and marriage with Irene if he succeeds. Andronico, however, is also in love with Asteria and she with him. Andronico discharges his obligation, expecting that Asteria will refuse Tamerlano. Asteria is disappointed with Adronico's inability to assert his own claim for her. Furthermore, she foresees a potential opportunity for revenge by pretending to agree to Tamerlano's proposal. Irene arrives and is distressed that Tamerlano no longer intends to marry her. Irene decides to assume the disguise of a servant of Irene and to bide her time, hoping to alter events in her own favor.

In Act 2, Tamerlano informs Andronico that Asteria has accepted his marriage offer. Andronico's distress is further inflamed by Tamerlano's suggestion of a double wedding: Tamerlano with Asteria and Andronico with Irene. The disguised Irene appears to plead Irene's case, but Tamerlano replies that Irene should be content with the throne of Greece, beside Andronico. Left alone, Irene and Asteria reach an understanding that their respective intentions are not truly in opposition.

Bajazet, like Andronio, is taken in by Asteria's apparent willingness to marry Tamerlano. Bajazet and Andronico are each prepared to die to prevent Asteria from marrying Tamerlano, not realizing that she is secretly planning to kill Tamerlano. Asteria is forced to reveal her plan, pulling a dagger from her cloak and announcing that it would have been her present to Tamerlano at their first nuptial embrace. Tamerlano orders the deaths of Bajazet and Asteria, but Andronico, Bajazet, and Irene each praise Asteria for her loyalty.

Asteria and Bajazet, sentenced to death, contemplate taking a poison that Bajazet has secretly in his possession. Tamerlano makes one final effort to soften Asteria's resistance, even offering to pardon her father, but Andronico and Asteria declare their love for one another, further enraging Tamerlano. To punish his adversaries, Tamerlano orders Asteria and Bajazet to wait on his table like servants and for Andronico to witness Asteria's humiliation. Asterio uses the opportunity to pour her share of her father's poison into Tamerlano's wine cup. Irene, however, reveals her true identity and warns Tamerlano about the poison. Tamerlano orders Asterio to serve the poisoned wine to either her father or her lover, Andronico. She is about to drink the wine herself, but Andronio knocks the cup out of her hand. Tamerlano orders Asteria arrested and confined to the common seraglio and for Bajazet to prepare to watch her being shamed.

Tamerlano reconciles himself to Irene, who has saved his life. Asteria and Bajazet are brought before Tamerlano. Bajazet has taken his share of the poison and is dying. As he grows increasingly incoherent, he bids farewell to his daughter and curses Tamerlano. Asteria plans to follow her father's example by taking poison, but the combination of Bajazet's death and Irene's pleading induces Tamerlano to be merciful. He pardons Andronico and Asteria, and announces that they shall be married and rule over Greece.

Place in the Repertoire: Tamerlano is not only one of Handel's best operas, but also one of his best works overall. That being the case, it is truly amazing that he composed it, except for revisions, in the space of just 20 days. Handel was at the height of his creative powers in 1724, which also saw the origin of two of his other best operas, Giulio Cesare and Rodelinda.

Quality as a Work of Art: Tamerlano is one of the most consistently serious of Handel's operas, with no significant comic relief characters. It is also one of the very few Handel operas in which a tenor role, Bajazet in this instance, plays such a significant part. That feature was likely due to the participation of Borosini in the premiere cast. It is Bajazet's death scene that constitutes the opera's climactic moment and gives this opera its predominantly tragic character, despite the happy formation of two couples in the end.

Despite the unbendingly serious tone, Handel managed to inject this opera with plenty of musical variety by exploiting the differing moods of the various characters. Thus, Andronico's arias have a tone of steadfast nobility, Asteria's arias are laced with pathos, Irene's music is spirited or tender, Tamerlano's is brilliantly ornamental, and Bajazet's angry and tragic.

Musical Performances: Monica Bacelli sang the "trouser-role" and title role for this production, Tamerlano. She's a talented mezzo-soprano with a wonderfully developed coloratura capability. Despite the application of a mustache, she fails to come across as masculine, but I've gotten used to "trouser-role" performances and they don't really stand in the way of my enjoyment of either the music or drama. The more important point is that her vocal performance was delightful.

Tenor Tom Randle sang the part of Bajaret, the defeated Ottoman monarch and distraught father. Randle made his operatic debut at the English Opera as Tamino in The Magic Flute. Randle has an exceptionally wide performance repertoire that has included Baroque operas, Mozart operas, Wagner's Rheingold, Russian operas, and such modern fare as Wozzeck, The Rake's Progress, Peter Grimes, St. François d'Assise, and Death of Klinghoffer. His tenor voice is strong and mellow, but Randle is known as much for his intense portrayals as for his singing. Certainly, his portrayal here of Bajaret is emotionally compelling and vocally excellent.

Australian countertenor Graham Pushee sang the role of Andronico. His repertoire also extends from the Baroque era to modern operas. He has sung in at least eleven different Handel operas and in recordings of some of Handel's choral works. The role of Andronico is not especially demanding in terms of acting requirements. Pushee's lovely countertenor voice is smooth and graceful.

Italian alto Anna Bonitatibus took the part of Irene, Princess von Trapezunt. Bonitatibus made her operatic debut at the Teatro Filarmonico di Verona in Vivaldi's Tamerlano, so she's seen this story from multiple perspectives. She has appeared in most of the important Italian venues, generally in operas from the Baroque, Classicism, and bel canto eras. She has occasionally appeared in modern works, such as Menotti's The Medium. I thought her performance here as Irene was wonderful. Her voice has a luscious, creamy quality.

The wonderful Norwegian/Italian soprano Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz, born in 1959 in Oslo, sang the role of Asteria. She studied music primarily at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome. She has sung dozens of roles in the principal theaters of Italy and Germany, as well as in New York, London, Paris, Brussels, Madrid, and in Norway. She often appears in choral music concerts. Her performance as Asteria was intense and vocally beautiful.

The English Consort was conducted by Trevor Pinnock for this production. Pinnock is an outstanding harpsichordist, as well as a conductor. Born n 1946 in Canterbury, England, Pinnock founded the English Consort in 1973. This group is devoted to the performance of 17th- and 18th-century music on original period instruments. Pinnock has acquired a sizeable international following. Pinnock conducted Handel's Giulio Cesare at the Metropolitan Opera in 1988 and, in 1989, he founded the Classical Band of New York, which also devoted itself to performance of early music on period instruments. In 1991, Pinnock was appointed artistic director and principal conductor of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. All the while, he continued to pursue a career as a virtuoso harpsichord performer.

Musically, this is certainly one of Handel's finest operas and the strong cast assembled for this production delivers a compelling performance.

Staging: The stage direction for this opera was provided by Jonathan Miller, born in 1934, in London. Miller had a long career in the arts as an actor, producer, writer, and director. He was also a neurologist. He directed dozens of plays between 1962 and 1990 and at least forty-five opera productions between 1974 and 2002. He also worked extensively in television. The sets are mediocre, at best, but the costumes are intriguing and period-appropriate.

Dramatically, this is a very slow-moving opera. Although the conflicts between the various characters are intense and engaging, the plot is advanced almost exclusively through the recitatives. The long arias illuminate the thoughts and feelings of the characters, during which time the plot essentially stands still. Most of the arias are the de capo type, so the sentiments are expressed repeatedly while the on-stage characters mainly stand and deliver. So, the drawback of this opera is that many modern viewers will find it static and long-winded.

Technical Aspects: This Kultur DVD recording of a performance from the 2001 Handel Festival in Halle is coded for region one (U.S. and Canada). The video format is widescreen. The sound options include Dolby 2.0, Dolby 5.0, and LPCM. The performance is nicely filmed with a good variety of shots and excellent lighting. The sound quality is exemplary as well. Menu languages include English, French, Japanese, and Spanish. Optional subtitles are provided in English, French, Japanese, and Spanish. The performance language is Italian. The DVD case gives the running time as 323 minutes, but that includes the extras. The opera's running time is roughly 187 minutes. The 4-page companion booklet includes a cast listing, scene listing (but without identifying the characters that appear in each scene), and a synopsis, all in English only. One unusual "extra" for this DVD is the option of superimposing the score over the image if you want to read the music along with the performance. DVD extras include interviews concerning The Making of Tamerlano, A Chronology of 50 Years of Handel Festival Halle, Historical Film Footage, and Interviews from 2001, when the present opera was performed.

Bottom-Line: This is a strong and authentic musical performance of one of Handel's best operas, with excellent vocalists across-the-board and the musical leadership of Trevor Pinnock. The costumes are excellent; the sets only mediocre. The acting is very good. This opera is very sluggish by modern standards of entertainment. I highly recommend this opera for those music lovers with well-established powers of concentration and enough interest in beautifully performed Baroque music to be able to devote roughly three hours to a music listening experience with little action. For those looking for lively, fast-paced entertainment, you'll need to look elsewhere.



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You can easily access my other opera reviews using the following lists:

Top-Twelve Film Versions of Operas
Metalluk's Twenty Best Pre-Romantic (Baroque & Classicism) Operas, on DVD
Metalluk's Twenty-five Best Italian Romantic Period Operas, on DVD
Metalluk's Twenty Best Non-Italian Romantic Period Operas, on DVD
Metalluk's Thirty Best Operas of the 20th-Century, on DVD
Metalluk's Best Opera from Each Decade of the 20th-Century, on DVD

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older