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Francesco Cavalli's 1662 opera buffa Ercole Amante has a unique and distinguished history; commissioned to celebrate the marriage of Louis XIV (the Sun King) and Marie-Thérèse of Spain, it justly retained a status as the most elaborate opera performed in Europe up through the late Seventeenth Century. De Nederlandse Opera mounted this humorous and surrealistic production of the work in 2009, with David Alden directing for the stage and Constance Hoffman designing the costumes. It stars Luca Pisaroni as the heroic Ercole, Veronica Cangemi as Iole, Jeremy Ovenden as Hyllo and [$Anna Maria Panzarella} as Deianira. The Concerto Köln and The Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera provide musical accompaniment, with Ivor Bolton serving as music director. Per the original work, the production here is sung in Italian.