It's about time I did another review!
I had heard of Rossini's little-known opera Semiramide, but had never heard it before until this past Saturday. Angela Meade sang the title role, with Elizabeth DeShong and Ildar Abdrazokov in the roles of the warrior Arsace and the villain Assur, respectively. Javier Camarena was the lovelorn foreign king Indreno, whose role appears to be limited to a minor subplot. And Ryan Speedo Green was Oroe, the high priest of Baal.
Semiramide is based off of the legend of Semiramis, a notorious queen of Babylon who had many lovers and was married at least twice. Perhaps one of the most well-known stories about her is that she succeeded the throne upon the death of her husband, Ninus, although some versions have Semiramis murdering Ninus.
The story is complicated, so I'll give a brief synopsis.
Semiramide is preparing to name a successor. She is in love with the young warrior, Arsace, whom she has summoned to the palace. But the conniving Assur wants the throne for himself, and he knows the queen's deep dark secret. Fifteen years prior, the two of them poisoned Semiramide's husband, King Ninus. Semiramide names Arsace her new husband and appoints him to be King of Babylon. Arsace is unnerved by this, but then the ghost of King Ninus rises from the ground and tells Arsace that it is his destiny to rule. But before he can do that, a victim must be sacrificed to avenge Ninus' murder. No prizes for guessing who the victim turns out to be after all is said and done. There is also the little subplot involving Indreno trying to woo a reluctant princess.
The opera is rarely performed due to its intense vocal demands. You need five virtuosos for the leading roles. There are three arias for Semiramide in Act 1 alone!
I could not find fault with the singers' performances. However, compared some of Rossini's other works, this opera has very few notable stand-out moments. Aside from Indreno's two arias, the moment that sticks out to me the most is the Act 2 duet between Semiramide and Arsace. This scene is an absolutely gorgeous moment where two characters go through a whole range of emotions as they gradually understand who the other is.
From the looks of Angela Meade's costumes, I think the same person who did the Met's most recent production of Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini did this production of Semiramide. I say this because the color of her costume goes from royal purple and gold at the very beginning to light blue, then to red, and then to very dark purple at the end.
The opera is one of those pieces where you go for the music and not the story. Yeah, the story has some very good moments in it, but it takes a back seat to the music. Now that doesn't mean I won't go see it again (in fact, I think I will), it just means that this opera doesn't have as much in it as Armida or La Cenerentola.
