Hercules by Händel, sø. 13 feb. 2022, Fra (2022/2022), I regi av Floris Visser, Dirigent Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Staatstheater, Karlsruhe, Germany

Georg Friedrich Handel's oratorio Hercules , which he himself described as a musical drama, does not deal with the invincible hero of the twelve tasks, but with its tragic end, which Sophocles describes in the tragedy The Women of Trachis . Like many heroes of ancient times, Hercules can only be defeated by intrigue. The centaur Nessos had once tried to kidnap his wife Dejanira. Fatally struck by Hercules' arrows, he asked Dejanira to soak a shirt with his blood if she ever had reason to be jealous. If Hercules wears it, then it will be a charm to bring him back to her. This blood-soaked shirt is doomed when Hercules returns from a campaign with the young king's daughter Iole and Dejanira falls into mad jealousy. Handel's musical drama impressively shows the destructive triumph of this jealousy. Dejanira's love and happiness turn into death and destruction, because the tools for it are already ready. After many successful productions, director Floris Visser returns to the STAATSTHEATER with this exciting Handel drama.