Philharmonia Baroque to Open Season with Handel's ALEXANDER'S FEAST

Following this summer's sold-out performances of Handel's Tolomeo, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale (PBOC) opens its 2026/27 subscription season in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Palo Alto with two programs that showcase the expressive power, virtuosity, and variety of Baroque music. Music Director Peter Whelan begins the season in November with Handel's The Power of Music, featuring the first U.S. performances of the composer's 1742 Dublin version of Alexander's Feast. The season continues in December with Baroque Brilliance, a festive holiday-season program led by Grammy-nominated conductor Patrick Dupré Quigley featuring music by Handel, J.S. Bach, Telemann, C.P.E. Bach, and Marianna Martines. Together, the two programs set the tone for a season that balances familiar masterpieces with works audiences may be hearing for the first time, reflecting Philharmonia's long-standing commitment to artistic discovery in performances on period instruments and in the style of the time.

Handel's The Power of Music

November sees Whelan bring a work to the Bay Area with which he has a special connection, having conducted the 1742 Dublin version of Alexander's Feast with the Irish Baroque Orchestra to critical acclaim at the BBC Proms in 2025.

'Alexander's Feast is one of Handel's most exhilarating and dramatically compelling works,' said Whelan. 'At its heart, it's about the power of music itself: its ability to move us, inspire us, and even change the course of events. Performing Handel's 1742 Dublin version gives audiences the opportunity to experience a fascinating chapter in his creative life, and it's a wonderful way to open Philharmonia's season.'

Whelan leads Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale and an exceptional cast of Baroque specialist singers in Handel's Alexander's Feast, a dramatic ode inspired by John Dryden's poem celebrating the legendary banquet following Alexander the Great's victory over Persia. As the feast unfolds, the musician Timotheus leads Alexander through a succession of emotions, demonstrating music's extraordinary power to influence both individuals and history.

Bay Area audiences will be the first in the United States to hear Handel's 1742 Dublin version of the work. Created during Handel's extended stay in Ireland, this version reveals the composer adapting his music to the performers available to him. Reassigning music between voice parts and expanding the work into three sections, Handel created the distinctive version Bay Area audiences will hear for the first time.

Whelan conducts soprano Sherezade Panthaki, mezzo-soprano Rachael Wilson, tenor James Way, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and Philharmonia Chorale under the direction of Valérie Sainte-Agathe. Performances take place November 11-14 in Stanford, San Francisco, and Berkeley. (Details below.)

Baroque Brilliance

The season continues in December with Baroque Brilliance, a festive holiday-season program led by Grammy-nominated conductor Patrick Dupré Quigley that combines brilliant vocal showpieces, orchestral favorites, and rarely performed gems.

Featuring Handel's “Let the Bright Seraphim”, Bach's jubilant Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, Telemann's Burlesque de Quixotte, C.P.E. Bach's Cello Concerto in A major featuring Philharmonia cellist William Skeen, and a motet by Marianna Martines that receives its West Coast Premiere, the program pairs celebrated masterworks with rewarding discoveries. Soprano Kathryn Mueller joins Philharmonia for performances that offer audiences an uplifting way to celebrate the holiday season through music that is both joyful and exhilarating. Philharmonia oboist Gonzalo X. Ruiz and trumpeter Kathryn Adduci are also highlighted.