Handel: Berenice

George Frideric Handel (Composer), Alan Curtis (Conductor), Il Complesso Barocco (Orchestra), Klara Ek (Performer), Romina Basso (Performer), Ingela Bohlin (Performer), Franco Fagioli (Performer), Mary-Ellen Nesi (Performer), Vito Priante (Performer), Zorzi Giustiniani (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Klara Ek, Romina Basso, Ingela Bohlin, Franco Fagioli, Mary-Ellen Nesi, et al.
• Orchestra: Il Complesso Barocco
• Conductor: Alan Curtis
• Composer: George Frideric Handel
• Audio CD (July 13, 2010)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: Virgin Classics
• ASIN: B003JVIB30
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,542 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

This Berenice is Curtis' seventh complete recording of a Handel opera for Virgin Classics; the six previous works (Admeto, Arminio, Deidamia, Radamisto, Rodrigo and Fernando, rè di Castiglia) were re-released in a special 15-CD box in 2009, and 2011 will bring the release of Ariodante, with Joyce Di Donato in the title role, supported by Karina Gauvin, Sabina Puertolas, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Topi Lehtipuu. In Berenice, set in Alexandria in 80 B.C., the title role of the Egyptian queen is taken by Swedish soprano Klara Ek, while Italian countertenor Franco Fagioli is Demetrio, the man she loves, but who loves her sister Selene, played by Italian mezzo Romina Basso; another Swedish soprano, Ingela Bohlin takes the travesty role of Alessandro, the man Berenice is expected to marry for political expediency, but whom she finally happily chooses as her consort. Berenice was composed at a turbulent time in Handel's career, when he was undergoing both professional and personal crises. It turned out to be the last opera he wrote for John Rich's new theatre in Covent Garden and was performed only four times before disappearing from view. The first staged production since the 18th century took place in 1985 in the UK, at the University of Keele; the opera was subsequently staged in Cambridge in 1993; in Germany, the Karlsruhe Handel Festival presented Berenice in 2001

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handel Milestone, July 16, 2010

By 

Paul Van de Water (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Handel: Berenice (Audio CD)

Once again Alan Curtis and EMI/Virgin Classics give us an excellent recording of a little-known Handel opera. (The one previous recording of Berenice is called merely "satisfactory" by its sole Amazon reviewer.)

Now professor emeritus of musicology at Berkeley, Curtis helped kick off the Handel renaissance with his complete recording of Admeto for EMI in 1977. That recording, which is still available on Virgin CD , starred Rene Jacobs, James Bowman, Max van Egmond, and other pioneers in historically informed performance. The band was Il Complesso Barocco, then comprised primarily of Dutch musicians.

Curtis didn't record any more Handel operas for many years afterwards, but recently he has more than made up for lost time. From his European base, Curtis has reconstituted Il Complesso Barocco as a largely Italian ensemble (although cellist Richte van der Meer plays in both Admeto and Berenice). Since 1999, they have produced CDs of Alcina, Arminio, Deidamia, Ezio, Fernando, Floridante, Lotario, Radamisto, Rodelinda, Rodrigo, and Tolomeo and a fine DVD of Arioidante Handel - Ariodante / Hallenberg, Cherici, Vandoni Iorio, Nesi, Lepore, Stains, Prato, Il Compresso Brocco, Curtis, Pascoe (Spoleto Festival 2007). Many of these are first recordings, and several have won awards. (A box containing six of these operas is currently available from ArkivMusik, although it is not listed at Amazon.)

The plot of Berenice, based on a libretto by Antonio Salvi, is typically convoluted. "The characters gyrate around the central theme of politically expedient marriage in a bewildering series of twists and turns, hoodwinkings, prevarications and plain falsehoods, creating, by Act II, an almost buffo-like imbroglio," writes David Kimbell in the Cambridge Handel Encyclopedia. Nonetheless, as Kimbell says, the opera is "packed with fine arias," of which the most famous are Demetrio's "Si, tra i ceppi" and Berenice's "Avvertite, mie pupille." The three duets are especially appealing.

Although this is apparently Klara Ek's recording premiere, her performance has received widespread praise. Andrew Clark in the Financial Times writes, "No one with an interest in Handel operas will be disappointed by the performance or by a cast led by the bright-voiced Klara Ek in the soprano title role and two excellent mezzos, Romina Basso and Mary Ellen Nesi." Nesi has previously been a stand-out as Polinesso in Curtis's DVD of Ariodante and as Teseo in Petrou's CD of Arianna in Creta. Soprano Ingela Bohlin portrayed the captive Princess Iole in Christie's superb DVD of Hercules Handel - Hercules / Shimell, DiDonato, Spence, Bohlin, Ernman, Kirkbride, Les Arts Florissants, Christie, Luc Bondy (Opera de Paris 2005).

Curtis's Berenice marks a milestone. Every surviving Handel opera has now had at least one high-quality recording--although, unfortunately, not every one remains in print.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handel's Berenice a Masterful Surprise for 2010, January 2, 2011

By 

John C. Priestley II (Saint Albans, WV USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handel: Berenice (Audio CD)

I purchased Handel's Berenice under the masterful hand of conductor Alan Curtis after reading a favorable review in the Metropolitan Opera's Opera News magazine. I was not disappointed. It is an powerhouse in an age when opera is struggling to survive as an art form. Klara Elk as Berenice is in particularly excellent form and is supported by a capable cast. Maestro Curtis maintains an even pace, an evocative interpretation, and a rapport with his cast that produces overall excellence. Il Complesso Barocco does an excellent job of providing the musical accompaniment. I highly recommend this performance to opera buffs and serious music lovers alike. Bravo!

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another gem, October 21, 2010

By 

David C. Nutter "handelway" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Handel: Berenice (Audio CD)

Curtis has done Georgie proud again. Now if only he could record Poros since we only have a German version which is hard to stomach even though the overture is one of the Saxon's best. I am eagerly awaiting some movement and Alessandro might be another contender since it's the only one that I don't have on CD. Am I asking too much? There is so much great music lurking in these operas and it should all be heard.