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''Berenice'' (HWV 38) is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel to an Italian libretto, written in Italy in 1709 and originally entitled ''Berenice, regina d'Egitto'' (Berenice, Queen of Egypt), by Antonio Salvi. It was first performed at the Covent Garden Theatre in London on 18 May 1737. It was not successful and only given four times. It is based upon the life of Cleopatra Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy IX (the main character in Handel's opera Tolomeo) and is set in around 81 BC. ==Background== The German-born Handel, after spending some of his early career composing operas and other pieces in Italy, settled in London, where in 1711 he had brought Italian opera for the first time with his opera ''Rinaldo''. An enormous success, "Rinaldo" created a craze in London for Italian opera seria, a form focused overwhelmingly on solo arias for the star virtuoso singers. Handel had presented new operas in London for years with great success. One of the major attractions in Handel's operas was the star castrato Senesino whose relationship with the composer was often stormy and who eventually left Handel's company to appear with the rival Opera of the Nobility, set up in 1733. Handel moved to a different theatre, Covent Garden, and engaged different singers,but there was not enough of an audience for opera in London, or aristocratic supporters to back it, for two opera houses at once, and both opera companies found themselves in difficulty.〔 None of Handel's three new operas in the 1736-37 season repeated the success of his earlier works, and he suffered a breakdown in his health, as reported by his friend Lord Shaftesbury: "Great fatigue and disappointment, affected him so much, that he was this Spring struck with the Palsy, which took entirely away, the use of 4 fingers of his right hand; and totally disabled him from Playing: And when the heats of the Summer 1737 came on, the Disorder seemed at times to affect his Understanding."〔 Although not performed again in Handel's lifetime or for many years afterwards, with the revival of interest in Baroque music and historically informed musical performance since the 1960s, ''Berenice'', like all Handel operas, receives performances at festivals and opera houses today.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://gfhandel.org/biography.html )〕 Among other performances, in 2011 ''Berenice'' was performed at the Theater an der Wien. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Berenice (opera)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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