Georg Friedrich Händel
Tamerlano

You probably know Tamerlane better than I do.

A general. A leader. From where, I'm not really sure, those parts of Asia, which just by glancing at an atlas, you get lost (but where is this place? Where is it now? Are they good or bad?).

One of those really fierce ones, who always conquered, crushed his opponents. Also someone involved with chess, that thing with shatranj, those stories... Well, I must confess, I've always cared very little about all that.

The first surprise is that she is a woman. How can Tamerlane be a woman? That one who wins battles, exterminates enemies, destroys cities? Yes, a woman. My goodness, how sexist the opera is... I wouldn't want someone - harking back to a recent controversy about a blackened Aida - to think of changing gender to be able to sing it. Or growing a mustache, or putting on fake breasts, sparking the right media tragedies (would it be an LGBTQ+ opera?). I must confess, I've always cared little about these things.

In any case, however, the story is beautiful and intricate. And dramatic, too. Tamerlane has a prisoner, King Belazaj or whatever his name is. And along with him his daughter Asteria, who is not a prisoner, but a companion (well, I don't really know the traditions of those people there, your father is a prisoner, you're there, let's say you can't wear a miniskirt, but you're not in the harem, so you keep to yourself and they don't bother you). King Belazaj, defeated, is furious. And can't wait to get into a fight. Or with swords (curved perhaps, who knows, but they hurt just the same). But then what does his daughter do? Well, the charming Tamerlane, although female, is in love with this Asteria. And while he (or she) the Tamerlane (neutral, there you go! I am a woman and I play Tamerlane!) has a betrothed, Irene (Italian? Who knows) who is in love with him. And to make things simpler, there's also Andronico, Tamerlane's general, loved by Asteria, and reciprocated. In short, typical opera drama. I'll spare you the rest and move to the spoiler. Belazaj dies, Asteria tries to kill Tamerlane but fails, in the end Tamerlane discovers (he is given a famous psychological test and realizes he prefers sausage over potato) so he has Asteria marry Andronico and he takes Irene back, who, although female, has a name that doesn't end in A, so fluid. Everyone is quite happy (except Belazaj, you might say, if you're paying attention, but oh well).

The opera: so, the thing is simple. There are recitative parts. Actually recited. Then every three, four recited sentences the aria begins.

The aria is always like this: there are two stanzas. Let's imagine: Ah! I like the potato, the potato is good, the potato is tasty (first stanza). I repeat it three times. Then I move to the second stanza. So, from today I will only want potatoes, I will live off potatoes, I will die of potato. Three times for her too (not to slight anyone).

Then - surprise (at least the first fifteen times you are surprised) - I start again from the first stanza and do it all together. Ah! I like the potato up to I will die of potato.

Then I do it again once more, just to solidify the ideas. And off with four recitative sentences, until the next aria. Beautiful. Varied, above all. And interesting.

There’s only one thing to add.

That all this, all these arias so varied in their development, so interesting in talking about the love turmoils of a sovereign of who knows where, and of which I care nothing, and even then it's a woman, which you can't quite understand why, and all these recitatives, which as a structure are a variety I highly recommend, all this, all this opera, all these three-plus hours of spectacle, are composed over music of unspeakable beauty.

There's really no way. Now, I wouldn't want to return to my usual claim that Handel was mooooolto much better than Mozart. Only the second had a better agent...
No, let's drop it. Let's talk about how today I come to the office singing I'm happy to die. And they look at me strange. Or that this aria, which even says terrible things, I thought it was talking about Christmas, but never mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xdaQpOl0GU&ab_channel=MsVertebra

Anyway, how to say, I'm still in the phase where I listen, and I don't really know what they're saying, but certainly they are saying things of enormous beauty. And I look around, start to recognize things, and those things are beautiful. And, obviously, I listen to nothing else.

So - maybe - I'll write you the review of Tamerlano, by Handel, which he wrote in 20 days, next time, when I really know it.

For now, I just wanted to tell you that I'm here. And that this stuff is wonderful.