Henry Purcell News

State Opera is presenting the semi-opera, or dramatick opera, King Arthur,

The Handel and Haydn Society, led by artistic director Harry Christophers, will bring one of the most beautiful and deeply moving masterpieces of the Baroque period to life with a performance of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas on Friday, March 29, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 31, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. at NEC's Jordan Hall in Boston.

Opera Atelier is delighted to present The Angel Speaks, a groundbreaking one-hour concert that effortlessly blends masterpieces of the baroque repertoire with the Canadian premiere of Annunciation, a new commission by Toronto-based composer and violinist Edwin Huizinga for period instruments. This singular performance takes place in the Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery at the historic Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), February 21, 2019, at 8pm.  Soprano Mireille Asselin and Baritone Jesse Blumberg will be joined by members of the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra under the direction of David Fallis, alongside Artists of Atelier Ballet.

For more than a century the world-renowned St. Olaf Choir has set a gold standard for choral singing, and the ensemble's 75 singers and conductor Anton Armstrong will travel to Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida from Thursday, Jan. 31, through Monday, Feb. 11, 2019 during its 2019 National Winter Tour. (Tickets are available online at stolaf.edu/tickets.)

Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Zeger, continues its opera season with Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, with additional selections by Purcell. The performances will be directed by Mary Birnbaum and choreographed by Claudia Schreier, and will feature Juilliard singers and period-instrument ensemble Juilliard415 conducted by Avi Stein. They will take place on Wednesday, February 20, and Friday, February 22, 2019, at 7:30pm, and Sunday, February 24, 2019, at 2pm in Juilliard's Rosemary and Meredith Willson Theater.

The Rachel Thorne Germond Performance Collage will perform a program of multimedia works, including two premieres, created by Germond between 2017 and 2019 incorporating video projection, performance, and photography.  Intrigued by a wide range of random and disparate inputs from modern life, choreographer Germond employs multiple strategies of investigation, in which ambiguous juxtapositions and new unfamiliar languages come to life.  February 14-16, 8 PM, at University Settlement House, 184 Eldridge Street.   All tickets are priced at a very affordable $15.

In Spring 2019, the internationally renowned, Boston-based, early music champion, the Handel and Haydn Society, returns to New York City for two stunning concerts. These performances, housed in two of New York City's most unique and celebrated concert venues, reflect the Handel and Haydn Society's impeccable consideration for historically-informed concert traditions, immaculate expression of the Renaissance and Baroque philosophies, and characteristic taste and precision of artistry. Under its esteemed artistic director of a decade, Harry Christophers, the 204-year-old ensemble brings the fiercely emotive early opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell to the spectacular Temple of Dendur setting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Sackler Wing, as well as an all-Vivaldi recital including works for soprano, violin, and viola d'amore at the Morgan Library.

The Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (BPYO), led by conductor Benjamin Zander, performs three works showcasing the mastery of the colors and virtuosity of a modern large orchestra on Sunday, February 24, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. at Symphony Hall.

Early Music Vancouver (EMV) proudly presents one of the world's preeminent vocal ensembles, The King's Singers with their programme of Royal Blood: Music for Henry VIII, at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, February 9, 2019 at 7:30pm.

Cantata Singers celebrates the holiday season with two opportunities to hear "A Cantata Singers Christmas"- today, December 7th at 8pm, and on Sunday, December 9th at 3pm, both at First Lutheran Church in the heart of Boston's Back Bay.

Soprano Marnie Breckenridge returns to Symphony Napa Valley with a selection of holiday favorites by Bach, Vivaldi and from Handel's Messiah, as well as Ave Maria and O Holy Night with Symphony Napa Valley conducted by Michael Guttman.  The concert also includes Winter from Vivaldi's Four Seasons with Guttman as soloist, and concludes with a rousing sing-along of favorite Christmas carols where you can join in the festivities!

Cantata Singers celebrates the holiday season with two opportunities to hear "A Cantata Singers Christmas"- on Friday, December 7th at 8pm, and on Sunday, December 9th at 3pm, both at First Lutheran Church in the heart of Boston's Back Bay.

Parthenia, New York's premiere viol consort, will be in concert on Sunday, November 4 at 4:00 PM, performing Music with Her Silver Sound at Corpus Christi Church, 529 West 121st Street in Manhattan.

The State Opera of South Australia will present a new addition to its 2018 season at the unique venue of a former electrical factory.

The Chicago Gargoyle Brass and Organ Ensemble will open its 2018-2019 season by leading listeners on aural adventures through space, time, and fantasy at its Imaginary Journeys concert at 7:30 p.m. September 29, 2018, at First United Church of Oak Park, 848 Lake Street, Oak, Park, Ill.

The Chicago Gargoyle Brass and Organ Ensemble will open its 2018-2019 season by leading listeners on aural adventures through space, time, and fantasy at its Imaginary Journeys concert at 7:30 p.m. September 29, 2018, at First United Church of Oak Park, 848 Lake Street, Oak, Park, Ill.

The State Opera of South Australia will present a new addition to its 2018 season at the unique venue of a former electrical factory.

One of the nation's leading organizations for the advancement of early music, the San Francisco Early Music Society (SFEMS) has announced its 2018-19 season featuring some of the most exciting early music practitioners here and abroad in nine wide-ranging programs. The season runs from October 12 through May 19, with concerts presented in Palo Alto, Berkeley and San Francisco. 

Rampant ambition and minds unhinged. Shrieking owls and prophesies foretold. Folger Theatre begins its 2018/19 season with Macbeth, Shakespeare's murderous tragedy seen anew and here, set in London's famous Bedlam asylum for a groundbreaking production integrating period music into a famous variation of the play. The Restoration-era adaptation by Sir William Davenant, which mesmerized audiences from the re-opening of London theaters in the 1660's until well into the 18th century, blends music performed by Folger Consort and the seminal tragedy of the Scottish king.