Hercule sur le Thermodon by Vivaldi, dim. 22 mai 2022, Du (2021/2022), Dirigé par Urs Häberli, Chef d'orchestre Basil H. E. Coleman, Fürstbischöflichen Opernhau, Passau, Allemagne

The dazzling baroque opera Herkules am Thermodon , in which Vivaldi's virtuosity and expressiveness reach their full potential, had its German premiere at the Landestheater Niederbayern! The long-lost work of Vivaldi can also be seen in the 2021/2022 season. The action of Hercules at the Thermodon freely ties in with the ninth of the legendary heroic deeds: Hercules is to procure the girdle of the Amazon queen Antiope for King Eurystheus. (The belt was both a martial attribute and a symbol for intercourse.) Together with other Greek noblemen, he set out for the kingdom of the Amazons. A war breaks out between men and women, but the decisive battle is fought on the field of love. At the successful premiere in Rome in 1723, there were only men on the stage. Because women were forbidden to appear on stage in the Papal States, the Amazons were impersonated by castrati in women's clothing. Opera in general did not have an easy time in Rome, but Vivaldi's sparkling Venetian stagecraft was tantamount to a revolution and set in motion a veritable Roman Vivaldi fashion.