Berenice

For this rare work by Handel, Sandrine Piau transports us to the banks of the Nile to follow the adventures of Queen Berenice. This was the last work written by Handel for the Covent Garden Theatre during a crisis period when London audiences were falling out of love with Italian opera. Premiered on 18 May 1737, Berenice was performed just four times to sparse audiences and languished in obscurity until it was revived in 2001 at the Karlsruhe Festival. Yet Handel had brought his mastery of the opera seria genre to bear on a rich and complex libretto once again featuring both political and romantic conflicts.

Production Théâtre des Champs-Elysées