Germany Handel, Serse (Xerxes): Soloists, Chorus of Oldenburg State Theatre, Musicians of the Oldenburg State Orchestra / Thomas Bönisch (conductor). Oldenburg State Theatre, 25.10.2026. (DM-D)
The plot of Handel’s Serse (Xerxes) is very intricate indeed, and it shares key characteristics with English Restoration Comedy, including combat of wit, where the verbal wit of Restoration Comedy correlates with the elaborate coloratura of Handel’s opera. There are also instances of cross-dressing and other ruses of disguise.
Olga von Wahl set the 2024 production at Oldenburg State Theatre in a museum gallery, against a wall full of more or less well-known paintings from across history, well beyond Handel’s time. The paintings, complete with frames, were actually projected onto the wall of the set. They could thus give way instantaneously to different contents. The large central frame strikingly served as an additional entrance and exit, as did several other frames where characters disappeared or entered through unseen trap doors. Director Kay Link emphasised comedy through related physical slapstick elements. Xerxes shared some characteristics of the Restoration comedy buffoon or fop – with the one seminal difference: the fop is actually at the lower end of the aristocratic hierarchy, Xerxes as the King is at its undeniable top.
Thomas Bönisch directed the chorus, played the cembalo and conducted. He ensured a meticulous rendering of the score’s nuances and a high level of coordination between solo instruments, orchestra, chorus and soloists. While the production, by nature of the plot, focused on Xerxes, the performance focused on the artist cast in that role, Maayan Licht. Born in 1993, he considers himself a male soprano. Licht completed his studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in 2021 and then launched his international career. The 2024 production of Xerxes in Oldenburg was thus at a relatively early phase of that career path, while his return in 2026 sees him at a much more advanced career stage, with many company and country debuts since, all highly acclaimed. Hearing him as Xerxes certainly confirmed the exceptional nature of his voice, and his exuberant personality fitted the nature of the character – in principle and as directed by Kay Link. Licht commands a voice that sounds as if it can do anything, and he is thus able to mould it across a huge range of nuances with perfect comfort and ease, sometimes even across one longer or shorter note.
Licht seems to have inspired the rest of the cast to their respective peak achievements. Each of the artists was able to rise to their level best in terms of expressivity and richness of voice, able to face all the challenges of the coloratura and embellishments and the sheer pace at which the lines are delivered. Stephanie Henshaw did not show any signs of her voice being affected despite an announcement before curtain-up. Anna Dowsley and Dorothee Bienert as Arsamene and Amastre sang with gusto, their mezzo-soprano voices rich and mellifluous but also with their always recognisable idiosyncrasies. Nikki Martin as Atalanta was on a par with her thrilling top range coloratura. Irakli Atanelishvili and Seungweon Lee as Ariodate and Elviro proved to be particularly funny comedians and while displaying markedly precise singing.
Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe
Featured Image: Maayan Licht (centre, Xerxes) and company © Stephan Walzl
Production:
Director – Kay Link
Set and Costumes – Olga von Wahl
Lighting – Philipp Sonnhoff
Video – Nikolay Schröder
Dramaturgy – Antje Müller
Cast:
Xerxes – Maayan Licht
Arsamene – Anna Dowsley
Romilda – Stephanie Hershaw
Amastre – Dorothee Bienert
Atalanta – Nikki Martin
Elviro – Seungweon Lee
Ariodate – Irakli Atanelishvili
Musicians: Fabian Breck (cello), Klaudia Wielgórecka (double bass), Susanne Peuker (theorbe and baroque guitar), Lee Santana (theorbe), Jens Pfaff (bassoon), and Thomas Bönisch (cembalo)