Handel: Belshazzar (Tarver, Joshua, Mehta/Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin/Rene Jacobs) [Blu-ray]

Belshazzar, written in 1744, was among the first English oratorios that Handel composed after he had abandoned the Italian opera form, and it consequently has an interesting place among the composer's works, still retaining some the dramatic content and style of opera composition. The dramatic content comes about due to the nature of the subject, which is biblical in nature, if not entirely a religious piece of work. So while there are contemplative hymns to God and fervent pleas for deliverance sung throughout, the historical and religious conflicts of the 539BC setting, where the Babylon of King Belshazzar is under siege from Cyrus, Prince of the Medes and Persians (who enters the city via the diverted channel of the river Euphrates), means that there is a bit more variety to the content and the tone, as well as the opportunity for a staging to apply other meaningful references that could have some present-day significance.

The plot is not overly complicated for a three-act, almost three-hour oratorio, but there is a certain amount of dramatic ground to cover, which means that there is more opera seria-like recitative in Belshazzar, and consequently, it may not be always quite as musical and melodious as later Handel oratorios. The true impact of the oratorio however is on a dramatic level and in the piece as a whole. It's staged here for the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2008 by Christof Nel in a manner that doesn't set any modern agenda or updated interpretation of the work, letting the dramatic action be dictated by the words of the libretto. One can see nonetheless that Belshazzar is not just a biblical or historical work, but that it applies as much to the role of a monarch or ruler, which has meaning for the period that the work was written, as well as having relevance to present-day conflicts not so far away from where this is set in antiquity.

René Jacobs conducts the Berlin Akademie für Alte Musik and the RIAS Kammerchor through a fine live performance of Belshazzar at Aix. The singing in English, from principals and chorus soloists alike, is uniformly wonderful across the whole range of voices - tenor, counter-tenor, soprano, mezzo-soprano, bass and male alto - that Handel brilliantly composes for and blends together. Bejun Mehta (whose crystal clear countertenor can also be heard to terrific effect in recent productions of Handel's Theodora and Messiah) is notable here as Cyrus and Kenneth Tarver is fine as Belshazzar, but even more impressive are Rosemary Joshua as Nitocris and Kristina Hammerström as Daniel. Such fine singing could not have been easy either with the acting demanded - a drenched Tarver clearly finds it a bit much - but a good balance between both is achieved in the staging.

I'm not entirely happy with the HD transfer on the Blu-ray from Harmonia Mundi. Even though it's on a BD50 disc, the encoding is not great, resulting in a faint jerkiness and blurring when there is movement on the screen. The effect may be variable on different players with better refresh rates, but this is the first BD I've come across with such a problem. There isn't enough movement on the screen for this to become a significant issue, but it could be a minor irritation. The audio tracks are in the standard PCM Stereo and DTS HD-Master Audio 5.1 and are both fine for the demands of the orchestration and the singing. Subtitles are in English, French and German only. Other than a text synopsis, there are no extra features on the Blu-ray disc.

This first-rate production of Handel's Belshazzar, conducted by Rene Jacobs and directed by Christof Nel, was recorded at the 2008 Festival d'Aix-en-Provence and originated at the Staatsoper Berlin. Once again--as with Theodora (Sellars/Christie), Hercules (Bondy/Christie), Semele (Carsen/Christie), and Acis and Galatea (McGregor/Hogwood)--we are dealing with a staged production of a piece that Handel did not conceive as such. Nonetheless, Belshazzar is one of Handel's most dramatic oratorios, based on a well known story from the Biblical book of Daniel. The libretto by Charles Jennens (who also prepared the text of Messiah and Saul) even includes "stage directions." As a result, this dramatisation seems entirely appropriate. Harnoncourt's 1976 recording Handel: Belshazzar retains its place in my affection, but this production benefits from its visual aspects and some 35 more years of experience with baroque performance practice.

The soloists are superb. Rosemary Joshua, a Welsh soprano who has made a name for herself in Handel and Mozart, shines as Belshazzar's mother Nitocris, who foresees that her son's degenerate empire will fall, like others before it. Kristina Hammarstrom, a young Swedish alto, delivers a moving portrayal of Daniel, the Hebrew prophet who translates the handwriting on the wall that confirms Belshazzar's doom. Bejun Mehta, one of the best contemporary counter-tenors, is Cyrus, the Persian prince who is God's instrument in delivering the Hebrews from their Babylonian captivity. Kenneth Tarver, an American tenor, effectively characterizes the dissolute Belshazzar, king of Babylon.

"The star of the show," says musicwebinternational, is the RIAS-Kammerchor, "able to personify Babylonians or Jews at the drop of a hat, singing magnificently. The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin again [proves] itself a world-class chamber ensemble."

Unlike another reviewer, I experienced no problems whatever playing this disc on my Sony Blu-ray player (S570). Note: I purchased my Blu-Ray disc from Amazon.uk, where it was available in late May.

Ruth Smith writes, "Belshazzar's political maturity is unique among Handel's biblical dramas. There is no nationalism, triumphalism, or vengeance; the hero's aim is bloodless conquest, peace, liberty, and good government; goodness is not the preserve of a single nation or race; generous, courageous, wise people of four different nations collaborate for the benefit of others; at the end all the participants except a wicked tyrant are alive, free and honorably treated, and captives are liberated and repatriated. Belshazzar continues to merit [Winton] Dean's description as a `work of supreme genius, whose relevance to our times seems to loom larger with every decade.'" (The Cambridge Handel Encyclopedia)

A must for Handel lovers.

Addendum (October 1, 2011): David Vickers reviews the recording in this month's Gramophone. He praises the "sincere staging full of good things" and says that "most of the singers are superb." However, he pans Rene Jacobs for adding instruments, adding instrumental interludes, mannered continuo playing, and having important lines sung by groups of soloists. Vickers points are surely accurate, and Jacobs shouldn't fiddle with the score, but I suspect that most non-expert Handel lovers (like myself) will not find these things particularly off-putting.

Belshazzar comes towards the end of Handel's career. He had given up opera for oratorio. And his oratorios here come close to opera. Indeed Semele and Hercules from the same period have frequently been produced as operas. These works freed Handel from the restraints of baroque opera. So he could focus more on the drama.
In Belshazzar it all comes together. It's a Handel music drama, and it's a marvel. Glorious music. Good drama. Jacobs and his troop do a superb job. The production is minimal but quite effective. It furthers the plot rather than going against it as so many productions do todaty. No trenchcoats.
If you like Handel you must see this production. And if you think that Italian baroque is not your cup of tea, you will still be enchanted with Berlshazzar. There are no extras but the included booklet is very good.