hmm. something about the fates of the main characters in the operas that occupy a special place in my mind...
this was originally going to be in order of severity, but then i took some time to think and realised that some of these endings might not have elicited very strong reactions from me in the moment, and it was only when i went over them later that the magnitude of what happened really set in. and so it's not so easy to rank them. so here they are, in no particular order.
rodelinda, regina de' longobardi - rodelinda and bertarido get what they both want, though a heavy burden is also placed on the latter- a burden that he's always been told was his to carry, but that he was never interested in or capable of carrying.
tolomeo, re d'egitto - tolomeo goes home. he's reunited with seleuce, he makes up with alessandro. his mother died, but there is no blood on his hands, nor does he mourn. he's returned to his rightful place on the throne.
semiramide - arsace- ninia, whatever- cannot say the same thing as tolomeo. he gets what he wants, what he's due- not without wading in his mother's blood. that act, on top of all the revelations of that day, leaves him deeply disturbed. and he can't turn back now, not when the chorus cheers his name- arsace, not ninia, but still.
il bajazet - bajazet dies. his death somewhat mollifies tamerlano, but arguably that means little when the events of the entire opera have left asteria wrecked. her life's been turned upside-down and flipped around and distorted in every direction. she leaves right before the end, grieving and swearing vengeance, and that's all we hear from her- no resolution, no catharsis.
akhnaten - akhnaten is murdered, another pharaoh is crowned, things change. but he gains immortality, in a way ( and for better or worse ).
germanico in germania/arminio in germania - arminio ( i am firmly of the opinion that arminio is the real protagonist ) is given his life in exchange for... well. it's described as an alliance, but at the same time i can't help but get the sense that there's an imbalance between him and germanico- and, by extent, their respective nations- and it's in the favour of germanico. he can never really be free.
...in summary, i have a thing for operas that end with The Horrors falling upon the alto/mezzo/countertenor. and in all cases but one ( though it could be argued that this applies to akhnaten as well, because of how it was sort of expected that his reign would have that sort of aftermath ) there's this sense of things ending how they're allegedly supposed to ( taking the throne, getting the girl, returning home, etc. ) but even then, there is something deeply wrong.
also, i can imagine these guys all meeting up and tolomeo going "you guys have regrets?"
