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" Ombra mai fu" ("Never was a shade…"), also known as "Largo from Xerxes" or "Handel's Largo", is the opening aria from the opera Serse (1738) by George Frideric ...
The King of Persia, Serse, gives effusive, loving thanks to the plane tree for furnishing him with shade (Arioso: "Ombra mai fu"). His brother Arsamene, with his buffoonish servant Elviro, enters, looking for Arsamene's sweetheart Romilda. They stop as they hear her singing from the summerhouse. Romilda is making gentle fun of Serse with her song.
File: Enrico Caruso, George Frideric Handel, Ombra mai fu (Serse).ogg
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The first act begins with the well-known aria "Ombra mai fu" ("There was never a shadow"). [7] According to Martha Novak Clinkscale, Handel's later, more famous setting "is neither more poignant nor mellifluous than Cavalli's".
Bononcini's Xerse was in turn adapted by Handel in his Serse with a third (and best known) version of "Ombra mai fu". Bononcini's song "Vado ben spesso cangiando loco" was used by Franz Liszt in his suite for piano Années de pèlerinage : Deuxième année: Italie under the erroneous title " Canzonetta del Salvator Rosa ".
Movement Type Grove [1] reference Händel-Gesellschaft reference Hallische Händel-Ausgabe reference Notes 1 Prelude: 107 xlviii, 149 The prelude did not appear in the first edition published by John Walsh [2] and was taken from Handel's keyboard suite HWV 428.
I think this is a fine example of the late-period Caruso, as well as being a fine example of the popular use of "Ombra mai fù" for the centuries before the revival of interest in Handel's operas. Nominate and support. Shoemaker's Holiday 03:11, 28 February 2009 (UTC) Support per nom. Durova Charge! 21:35, 2 March 2009 (UTC)