I especially enjoyed the simile aria invoking a bee (strings buzzing merrily underneath), and there is one extraordinary aria for Berenice herself when she gets her come-uppance, with oboe imitating voice in free form for all the world like a dry run for the Lucia mad scene. This long, elaborate scena, unlike anything else in Handel, was most beautifully sung by Ann Mackay, who throughout gave a performance of great style and wit. There were two first-rate counter-tenors in Jonathan Peter Kenny and Mark Chambers, both phenomenally accurate in passage-work as assorted suitors, and Kay Jordan sang the man who eventually gets Berenice with beguiling musicianship and sweetness of tone. Lynette Alcantara’s agreeably resinous mezzo was heard to advantage as Berenice’s equally strong-willed sister. Musical and vocal standards were high - the evening was enjoyable as well as instructive.
The Times, 4 May 1993
Dr Jones ... conducts in lively style, and Richard Gregson’s production makes the music itself dictate the dramatic action. Or rather, perhaps, it demonstrates that the music is the child of the drama. In her first aria, addressed to the Roman ambassador, Queen Berenice of Egypt turns during the intervening ritornello to consult her waiting ladies, then shades her tone as the music moves to the minor for the middle section: music and drama feed each other, and the meaning of each is enriched. In another aria, she delivers a minor-key middle section as if a confidential aside. The singer, Ann Mackay, was commanding in her presence and a joy to listen to, with gleaming tone, impeccable tuning and crystalline passage-work. A range of body language, especially gesture, reinforced the message, and sometimes told us when (for example) it was deceptive. This ... is true musical drama.
The Times Literary Supplement, 14 May 1993
Andrew Jones at Cambridge has succeeded Frances and Alan Kitching (Abingdon) and Charles Farncombe (Handel Opera Society) as serial purveyor of Handel’s operas. This was the fifth of a biennial series, and the best so far. ..... Visually it was delightful, with an apt architectural set, a sufficiency of supers and brilliant costumes. ... Richard Gregson, the producer, placed the action within the framework of courtly formality that left the characters free to express their passions with maximum force. There was some period gesture and enough movement to hold attention without interfering with the impact of the arias. It was a happy solution to the problem of how to grip a modern audience, reinforced by admirable pacing of the recitatives.
The standard of singing by a well-balanced cast was consistently high. Ann Mackay, a very dramatic singer and a fine actress, was a most convincing Berenice, playing the super-tease (the character has points in common with both Agrippina and Partenope) while remaining every inch a queen. She rose magnificently to her great renunciation scene in the last act. ... Kay Jordan as the successful suitor Alessandro...enriched a rather colourless part with some lovely legato singing, especially in the exquisite cavatina ‘Mio bel sol’. Jonathan Peter Kenny, who improves all the time, sang the more dramatic lower castrato part with mellifluous panache. A second counter-tenor, Mark Chambers, ... was no less accomplished. Both maintained an admirably secure line with never a suspicion of a squawk. In the mezzo part of Selene, almost as devious a plotter as her sister Berenice, Lynette Alcantara made much of the hauntingly beautiful but baffling aria ‘Si poco è forte’ at the end of Act 2.
Opera, July 1993
