Semele

Opera superstar Cecilia Bartoli offers her first operatic release on DVD in 12 years, and also her first opera in English. Bartoli stars as Semele (a role usually taken by a soprano) in Handel s late opera, which features such well-known arias as Endless pleasure, endless love, Myself I shall adore, and Oh sleep, why dost though leave me? Robert Carsen s stylish modern dress production hints at parallels with the problematic relationship between the late Princess Diana and the British Royal Family. Recorded live at the Zurich Opera House in January, 2007.

Director: Robert Carsen

Cast: Cecilia Bartoli, Charles Workman, Birgit Remmert, Liliana Nikiteanu, Anton Charinger, Isabel Rey, William Christie, Thomas Allen

Audience-only score — full critic data not yet in the ReelXO vault.