Datebook: Review: Clarion Choir shines in a Berkeley oratorio performance
Datebook
By Joshua Kosman
Most of us, if we’re being honest, go to classical musical events and keep our eyes and ears on the star performers — the lead singers, the instrumental soloists, the conductor. But sometimes the stars are elsewhere.
During the performance of Handel’s oratorio “Solomon” presented by Cal Performances on Sunday, March 5, in UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall, the dazzling heroism came from the rear of the stage, where the chorus was arrayed.
Not that they got top billing. The headliner was the English Concert, the estimable British early-music ensemble led by conductor and harpsichordist Harry Bicket. Also on hand were a handful of established singers, including mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg in the title role of the biblical king, and soprano Miah Persson as his unnamed queen.
Yet Sunday’s 3½-hour offering came most vividly to life whenever the chorus got into the action. The Clarion Choir, led by Artistic Director Steven Fox, provided episode after episode of luxuriant and richly hued singing.
Read more here.
