In 1738 Georg Frideric Handel penned “Il Xerse” which was to be his last as well as his most famous opera. However in truth, Handel’s opera is nothing other than the final chapter in the history of a subject which had been set to music by Francesco Cavalli almost a century earlier: “Il Xerse”, performed for the first time in 1655 in the Teatro SS. Giovanni e Paolo in Venice, was one of the most successful operas of its day. This is reflected not only by many well-known revivals throughout Italy,...