Uploaded December 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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Internationally acclaimed countertenor Iestyn Davies sings the achingly lovely aria 'Ombra mai fu' from Handel's opera Serse (Xerxes), HWV40. Iestyn is joined by the Academy of Ancient Music, directed by Chad Kelly.

OMBRA MAI FU
The opening number from Handel's 1738 opera, Serse, this aria was re-discovered in the 19th century and has become one of Handel's best-known pieces. Often known simply as 'Largo from Xerxes', this aria was adapted by Handel from a setting by Giovanni Bononcini, who in turn had adapted it from a setting by Francesco Cavalli.

Sung in the opera by the main character Xerxes I of Persia as he admires the shade of a plane tree:

'Ombra mai fu
di vegetabile,
cara ed amabile,
soave più.'

'Never was a shade
of any plant
dearer and more lovely,
or more sweet.'

MUSIC
'Ombra Mai Fu'
from: Xerses / Serse HWV 40 [1738]
composer: G. F Handel [1685 - 1759]

ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC
countertenor: Iestyn Davies
directed by: Chad Kelly
leader: Bojan Cicic

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Recorded at St. Jude on the Hill,
Hampstead Garden Suburb, London
January 2019
Music Producer: Adrian Peacock
Video director: Guy Wigmore
Recording Engineer: David Hinitt

Project: Academy of Ancient Music Season Sessions 18-19.
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