Helmut Koch - Handel: Semele (1997)

Handel's English oratorios had become popular in his native Germany, in German translation, even during the composer's lifetime. Berlin Classics has released recordings of a number of German performances, of varying levels of quality, made in the 1960s and 1970s. This recording of Semele is among its more successful overall, but it's not strong enough to displace several very fine English-language versions available. The weakest links here are the leads, soprano Regina Werner as Semele and tenor Eberhard Büchner as Zeus (Jupiter in the English version; the German version uses the Greek names of the deities). Semele is a coloratura role with demands comparable that those of Handel's Italian operas, and Werner is not up to the task in her technique, her vocal quality, or her characterization; she hits all the notes, but it sounds like quite an effort. Büchner's voice is small, and he fails to convey the god's grandeur. The other soloists are very fine, and several stand out -- alto Gisela Pohl, for the frightening intensity she brings to the jilted Here (Juno), and bass Fritz Hübner's powerfully resonant Somnus. Helmut Koch leads the Rundfunkchor and Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin in solid performances. Koch takes an interpretive middle road; he doesn't use the massive forces that had become traditional for Handel oratorios, and he doesn't adhere to the more spartan (and authentic) practice of pared-down performers that more recent interpreters have used, or pay particular attention to the then-new research in period performance practice. The sound quality is fine; clean and present, with good balance. ~ Stephen Eddins