Handel and Haydn Society to Open Season with L'ALLEGRO at Symphony Hall
Soprano Joélle Harvey and poet Regie Gibson join the Symphony Hall program featuring tenor Paul Appleby's H+H debut.
The Handel and Haydn Society's 2026–27 Season will open on October 2 + 4 at Symphony Hall with The Art of Living, a musical exploration and celebration of the human spirit featuring George Frideric Handel's L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (the Cheerful Man, the Thoughtful Man, and the Moderate Man). Handel's most celebrated masterpiece before Messiah, the work is based on two companion poems of 17th-century English writer John Milton, adapted and extended by librettist Charles Jennens. H+H Artistic Director Jonathan Cohen leads the period instrument orchestra and chorus with guest soloists soprano Joélle Harvey, tenor Paul Appleby, and bass-baritone Michael Sumuel. For the first time with H+H at Symphony Hall, H+H welcomes friend and collaborator Massachusetts Poet Laureate Regie Gibson to the stage to share new spoken reflections for the art of living today.
These performances mark the first for Lecolion Washington, Jr. in his role as President and CEO of H+H. All concert goers are invited to join H+H musicians, staff, and Board members for a reception to greet him following both performances.
“As the first Black leader in the 211-year history of H+H, I could not be more honored to welcome all to experience the extraordinary music of H+H as we open our new season,” said Washington. “L'Allegro explores the joyful extrovert and the contemplative introvert hidden within us all. No matter how you see the world, Handel's music beautifully captures each persona, moving us to embrace one another's similarities and differences. This is music to bring us together, and that feels remarkably relevant and personally meaningful for today.”
To share new reflections about the art of living, H+H warmly welcomes spoken word artist Regie Gibson to the Symphony Hall stage for these concerts. H+H has enjoyed a long partnership with Gibson, who has performed with and composed the text for the Handel and Haydn Society's “Crossing the Deep” and free Emancipation Proclamation Concerts held annually on New Year's Eve.
A favorite of Boston audiences, regularly featured soprano soloist Joélle Harvey returns alongside operatic tenor Paul Appleby in his H+H debut and bass-baritone Michael Sumuel, who last performed with H+H in “Glories of Bach” during the 2022-23 Season. H+H Chorus members Sonja DuToit Tengblad, Sarah Vitale, and Teresa Wakim are featured step out soloists.
Despite its Italian title, the work is written in English and composed in a unique structure that's not quite an opera, oratorio, or cantata; it was described at its 1740 premiere in London as an “entertainment,” which Handel's inventive orchestration provides. The work features virtuosic solos for Baroque cello, flute, and horn; oboe, organ, carillon, and theorbo (a large plucked instrument of the lute family), are also featured. Lyrics praise the virtues of an extroverted life full of sensual pleasures, sweet music, and lively community in L'Allegro, then of beauty to be found in an introverted, melancholy lifestyle marked by quiet contemplation and peace in il Penseroso. The third movement, with text drafted by Jennens, honors a moderate approach to life, il Moderato.
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