attrib. Handel: Germanico

The label on the box describes Germanico as “a newly-discovered operatic masterpiece by G. F. Handel”: marketing spin trumping scholarly caution. The story behind the project begins with the discovery in a Florentine conservatory of a manuscript bearing the notation “Del Sigr Hendl” and dated from the paper and handwriting to the first decade of the eighteenth century; but there is no title page and the source of the text is unknown. Ottaviano Tenerani, who made the discovery, now directs this splendid performance by a small group of musicians and a strong cast headed by Sara Mingardo in the title role.

Opera this may not be (the booklet notes settle for “serenata a sei”), and Handel it may not be, but there are Handelian characteristics and the work gathers pace in an operatic manner. It centres on the Roman general Germanicus, the golden boy of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, and his triumphant return in AD 17 from military campaigns in Gaul; the work may have been written to celebrate the comparable successes of Archduke Joseph (soon to be Emperor) in the War of the Spanish Succession.

There is no real action, but a series of tableaux forms a triptych of celebratory scenes with a private central scene in which Germanico’s mother Antonia (the daughter of Mark Antony) and his wife Agrippina (the mother of the notorious namesake who is the subject of Handel’s Venetian opera) address him adoringly; the music most resembles Handel in this more intimate section. Germanico falls asleep and has a visionary dream; when he wakes he predicts a golden age for Roman rule in a stream of accompanied recitative sung with great power by Mingardo.

The singing is firm and dramatic throughout, and the instrumentalists make a vibrant contribution (try the atmospheric lute and bassoon accompaniment in Agrippina’s tender aria Dormite, sì, dormite, touchingly sung by Maria Grazia Schiavo). Every reason then to put aside scholarly ifs and buts and enjoy some very fine music performed with all the virtuosity and panache it needs.