Fresh from battle, Hercules returns home victorious, but Dejanira is consumed by a jealousy that sets off a tragic chain of events. With Handel’s soaring arias, inventive chromaticism, and powerful choruses, this opera reminds us that mistrust can bring even the mightiest to their knees. Thomas Broughton’s libretto draws from Ovid and Sophocles, with the chorus commenting on events as they unfold like a Greek tragedy. Harry Bicket and The English Concert tour the US, in collaboration once again with the scintillating Clarion Choir directed by Steven Fox.

EPSG:4326

Handel’s Hercules

University of California, Berkeley

Orpheum Theatre

Carnegie Hall

Britain’s eminent early-music ensemble returns to Berkeley to perform Handel’s glorious Solomon (1748), based on Biblical stories of the great king’s wisdom and justice and the ushering of a golden age of peace, piety, and prosperity. Among the composer’s many brilliant English oratorios, Solomon stands out as an especially jubilant and sumptuous work, featuring a double chorus, stunning arias such as “Will the sun forget to streak,” and gorgeous orchestrations like the sprightly oboe-and-strings feature, “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba.” The Swedish mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg, a beloved Baroque music diva, sings the title role. “Hallenberg’s exceptionally wide-ranging, ruby-color mezzo, with its serene legato and jaw-dropping coloratura, has inevitably made her a go-to artist” (The New York Times).

The Clarion Choir

8 - 15 Mar, 2026

Handel’s Hercules

Mar 5, 2023

The English Concert

The Clarion Choir