Xerxes, HWV 40 (Handel)
Movements
Ombra mai fu
Notes
Xerxes; HWV 40) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The opera is set in Persia (modern-day Iran) about 470 BC and is very loosely based upon Xerxes I of Persia. The opening aria, “Ombra mai fu”, sung by Xerxes to a plane tree (Platanus orientalis), is set to one of Handel’s best-known melodies, and is often known as Handel’s “Largo” (despite being marked “larghetto” in the score).
