BERKELEY - Neglected works usually deserve their fate. Among notable exceptions few are more exceptional than Handel's 1728 "Siroe." Never heard of it? Small wonder. It's a virtually forgotten opera, with a handful of productions in almost three centuries. It is also a most delightful work, equal to some of Handel's best. Besides the ovation tonight in Zellerbach Hall, at the opera's West Coast premiere, there was also the same question on every mind: "How could something so wonderful disappear into oblivion?" (The existence of a CD set of the opera, recorded in Purchase, NY, in 1990, indicates that there must have been a previous US performance.) UC-Berkeley music professor Kate van Orden suggests in the program notes that the bankruptcy and disappearance of London's Royal Academy that produced "Sirhoe" originally, combined with the ascendence of John Gay's "The Beggar's Opera" had something to do with it. Whatever the reason, the long-term disappearance of "Sirhoe" was both unjust and unfortunate. As performed, brilliantly, tonight by Andrea Marcon's astonishing Venice Baroque Orchestra and a good-to-grand cast, "Siroe" won ears and hearts instantly, for keeps. There are no resting places, no "filling," in the three-act/140-minute opera. The music ranges from powerful rhythmic excitement to heartfelt lyrical passages to gripping drama. All of the score is to be treasured. It was the first performance of "Siroe" by the Venetians on their US tour. It was a semi- (or quarter-) staged concert version, some of the singers reverted to scores in the second half, indicating that their presentation is a work in progress. After several other concert performances, a fully-staged version will be given in lucky Brooklyn, at BAM, in mid-April. Get your tickets now. Although the libretto is by Metastasio, the story is a mess, too too Baroque by far. The title role (sung by mezzo Liliana Rugiero) is a Persian prince, whose father (Cosroe, sung by Robert Koller) is doing a King Lear bit, although it's between two sons, rather than three daughters. The rival for succession is Siroe's brother, Medarse (countertenor Robert Balconi), but real complications ensue by the presence of the princess Emira from a country defeated by the Persians and living in the court, Aida-like (albeit wearing trousers), trying to kill the king and create as much havoc as possible - which is easy because Siroe is in love with her - no, not in the trouser'd incarnation, he knows about the charade. The role of Emira was sung by Katerina Beranova, a fine singer, doing well, in spite of an announced and audible indisposition. Finally, there is Laodice, who is possibly the worst troublemaker in the court, loved by the king, in love with Siroe, and doing I don't know what... but it doesn't matter. In that role, the Venetians have brought to the US one of the most Fetching new stars in the business. Leipzig-born Simone Kermes is a vamp, a bombshell, a rocket-red-haired superstar, who also sings. How she sings! Sings she how? Well, it's difficult to describe because hers is a dazzling, brilliant performance, she is commanding attention as a few singers I have known, but... it *may* be that she is not singing "right." Were there such extreme contrasts, exaggerated shadings and contrasts in Handel's time? I missed the era by a few years, and I suppose nobody knows for sure, but I have a feeling however "inauthentic" Kermes' star turn may be against a scholarly concept of the Baroque, there must have been mesmerizing divas "taking liberties" back then as well. Did artists sing their arias while caressing members of the orchestra? At any rate, Kermes is a joy, a treasure, and she will be very big very soon. And yet, the true star of "Siroe" is conductor/music director/harpsichordist Marcon. Under his direction, the 20 musicians - the hardest-working group I've seen - created a magic carpet for the singers. Time and again, lutists Ivano Zanenghi and Evangelina Mascardi turned their frail instruments into a couple of mighty pipe organs. The eight violinists played through the evening as one, cellists, oboes and Carles Cristobal Ferran's bassoon enchanted both as accompanists and holding center stage between arias. The Berkeley "Siroe" is repeated Saturday. For information about the performance and the work, see http://tinyurl.com/2wy36. Related by the time element, undeserved obscurity and high quality, there is another event this weekend those in the Bay Area should know about. The quaint title of the San Francisco Tribal and Textile Arts Show (in the Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion, Saturday and Sunday) gives no indication of what this show contains any more than "Siroe" signifies "great opera," but you will not find a more amazing collection of art that you can touch anywhere else. Stop by before heading to Berkeley. Janos Gereben/SF www.sfcv.org [log in to unmask]