The English Concert and The Clarion Choir

Britain’s early-music ensemble returns to Berkeley to perform Handel’s Solomon (1748), based on Biblical stories of the great king’s wisdom and justice and the ushering of a golden age of peace, piety, and prosperity. Among the composer’s many English oratorios, Solomon features a double chorus, arias such as “Will the sun forget to streak,” and orchestrations like the oboe-and-strings feature, “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba.” The Swedish mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg, a Baroque music diva, makes her Cal Performances debut in the title role.