United States Handel, Hercules: Soloists, Clarion Choir (artistic director: Steven Fox), English Concert / Harry Bicket (conductor, harpsichord). Cal Performances, Zellerbach Hall, University of California Berkeley, 8.3.2026. (HS)
Soloists:
Hercules – William Guanbo Su
Dejanira – Ann Hallenberg
Iole – Hilary Cronin
Lichas – Alexander Chance
Hyllus – David Portillo
Priest of Jupiter – Jonathan Woody
First Trachinian – Craig Phillips
The annual visit to Berkeley by The English Concert, the London-based, period-instrument orchestra led by conductor Harry Bicket, is always something to look forward to. The performance of Handel’s Hercules offered a splendid display of finely tuned voices and mesmerizing Baroque energy.
It was my long-delayed introduction to this three-hour piece which traces the last days of the titular strongman hero of Roman/Greek mythology. Though often performed as an opera now, Handel wrote it as an oratorio around the same time as Messiah. Despite the title, it focuses more on the hero’s wife, Dejanira, who unwittingly engineers his torturous death.
Mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg, a regular with the English Concert, emphasized the harridan-like aspects of Dejanira. She is irritated by his absence, and her husband’s return from a victory over a neighboring city with its lovely young princess in tow has her scowling at the sight, a one-dimensional acting performance. Her plangent vocal sound, however, worked well in big showpieces, especially a central scene in which Hercules and Dejanira trade prickly arias over her accusations of unfaithfulness.
With a sturdy yet warm-textured bass, William Guanbo Su (in his English Concert debut) delivered a Hercules that, appropriately, managed to push the character’s heroic status just a bit much. The aforementioned scene contained a particularly fine example of Su’s agile coloratura and dazzling clarity. The aria ‘Alcides’ name in latest story’ amply reflected the character’s braggadocio. Hallenberg’s response, ‘Resign thy club and lion’s spoils’, mocked him, coating his coloratura with even more complexity.
Soprano Hilary Cronin, who won the 2021 London Handel International competition, stole the show as Iole with one beautifully executed aria after another. Her satiny tone, coloratura, command of dynamics drama and pinpoint coloratura paid dividends in ‘Ah! Think what ills the jealous prove’, warning Dejanira that she was wrong to accuse Hercules. Her suppleness of tone in ‘My breast with tender pity swells’ brought a welcome balm to the final minutes of the opera.
Tenor David Portillo (who was in last week’s Mozart Requiem at San Francisco Opera), sang the role of Hyllus, the son of Hercules and Dejanira who eventually ends up with Iole, with unforced tone and lithe flexibility. Their final duet, ‘O prince, whose virtues all admire’, found their voices intertwining in a sort of proto-(Richard) Straussian bliss.
Countertenor Alexander Chance, who won the Handel competition in 2022, made a distinctive impression with his infallible accuracy and range, especially in an aria in which he reports the horrifying death of Hercules in excruciating detail.
As in Messiah, the chorus plays a key role and has some of the most rewarding music. The chorus delivered the central point of the opera with the extensive ‘Jealousy! Infernal pest’, which brought the first part of the performance to a rousing close midway through Act II. (It was a great choice to insert the one intermission there.) The 27 voices, acting as a sort of Greek choros to comment on the latest twists in the plot, colored each time in the spotlight with a different hue.
Two of the choristers stepped out to fill small roles. Bass Jonathan Woody made the biggest impression as the Priest of Jupiter in the final scene with his noble presence.
Through it all. Bicket (conducting from a harpsichord) and the 26-piece orchestra kept up the vitality and the shifting textures. Appearances of oboes and trumpets were especially ingratiating, and the presence of theorbo and organ added to the sound colors.
Harvey Steiman
Featured Image: Harry Bicket conducts The English Concert with The Clarion Choir © Kristen Loken