Carry on up the Nile: Handel's Berenice by the Seine

Berenice is one of Handel’s later Italian operas, begun in 1736 and premiering at Covent Garden in 1737 with a solid cast including Anna Strada del Po and the castrati Gizziello and Annibali. While not frequently seen in the modern era, it has not suffered total obscurity, with a fine concert performance in Göttingen and a well sung but rather bewildering staged version in Halle in recent years. Now we have another enjoyable concert outing at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, following one with the same forces in Madrid a few days ago.

The plot, vaguely based on the doings of Ptolemaic Egyptian royalty, is set around 80 BC and features Berenice III, some sort of ancestor of the famous Cleopatra who features in Giulio Cesare set 32 years later. The plot is somewhat convoluted but easy enough to follow, especially when the cast, as here, make clear their relationships and dramatic interactions. Berenice is in love with Demetrio, a “Macedonian” who reciprocally loves her sister Selene. The Romans want Berenice to marry the Roman, or Romanised, Alessandro (presumably the historical Ptolemaic Alexander I, her uncle), who is also, once having laid eyes on her, quite keen on this idea. Then there is another prince, Arsace, also in love with Selene, whose main function is being scorned by the latter. Moving things along, and filling out the casting, are the Roman messenger Fabio and military man Aristobolo. At the very last possible minute, Berenice decides she loves Alessandro after all, leaving Selene and Demetrio free to get together, Arsace to behave nobly and everyone to be happy.

This performance featured the now well established period orchestra Il Pomo d’Oro, under the direction of Francesco Corti, leading from the harpsichord. The scoring for Berenice is fairly simple, featuring two oboes, strings and basso continuo, in this case including another harpsichord, a theorbo and a bassoon as well as cellos and a double bass. The orchestra led off with a brisk rendition of the sinfonia, with a lyrical rendition of the oft-played slow movement. A few vocal items were omitted, but all the remaining arias were sung in full, with appropriate cadenzas.

Leading the cast was the great French soprano Sandrine Piau in the title role. She was in good form, singing with her accustomed elegance and accuracy, and turning in a committed dramatic portrayal. Highlights included a forceful rendition of “Traditore, traditore”, and the well known aria “Chi tíntende”, with a delightful oboe solo played by Rodrigo Gutiérrez. Her eventual love object Alessandro, in the sopranista Gizziello role was sung by Arianna Venditelli with nice even tone and good flexibility. Handel stalwart Ann Hallenberg sang the role of Selene with dramatic conviction in a firm rich mezzo, the aria “Si poco è forte” displaying her mastery of coloratura. Demetrio, the Annibali role, was sung by Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian who has a nice unforced countertenor voice and good stage presence. Another French countertenor, Rémy Brès-Feuillet had the rather thankless role of Arsace (originally sung by the alto Maria Caterina Negri) and made the most of his two arias. Fabio was sung by Matthew Newlin in a smooth tenor, and Aristobolo by resonant bass John Chest.