Harry Bicket to Lead The English Concert in Performance of Handel's ORLANDO, 3/13

On Sunday, March 13, at 2:00 p.m., Harry Bicket conducts Handel's Orlando at Carnegie Hall with acclaimed baroque orchestra The English Concert. In this concert presentation of Handel's opera seria of love, war, and madness, countertenor Iestyn Davies performs the title role joined by sopranos Erin Morley (Angelica) and Carolyn Sampson (Dorinda), mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke (Medoro), and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen (Zoroastro). Benjamin Sosland of The Juilliard School leads a pre-concert talk at 1:00 p.m.

This concert marks the fourth year of an acclaimed multi-year Handel project by Harry Bicket, The English Concert, and Carnegie Hall, which began in 2013 with Radamisto, with David Daniels as the eponymous hero. It has continued in each subsequent season, first with Handel's oratorio Theodora and most recently the opera Alcina starring mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato in the title role. Ms. DiDonato returns to Carnegie Hall for this project next season, singing the title hero in Handel's Ariodante with Mr. Bicket and The English Concert in April 2017.

Renowned as an opera and concert conductor of distinction, Harry Bicket is especially noted for his interpretation of baroque and classical repertoire. He became Artistic Director of The English Concert in 2007. In 2013, he took up the post of Chief Conductor of Santa Fe Opera. Plans for the 2015-2016 season include returns to the Oslo Philharmonic and Royal Northern Sinfonia as well as his debut with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Opera performances include Le Nozze di Figaro and Rusalka at Houston Grand Opera and Maometto II at Canadian Opera Company. Wigmore Hall appearances include programs featuring both Iestyn Davies and Andreas Scholl. Future plans include extensive concert and touring projects with The English Concert and visits to The Cleveland Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago.

The English Concert is one of Europe's leading chamber orchestras specializing in historically informed performance. Created by Trevor Pinnock in 1973, the orchestra appointed Harry Bicket as its Artistic Director in 2007. Mr. Bicket is renowned for his work with singers and vocal collaborators, including in recent seasons Lucy Crowe, Elizabeth Watts, Sarah Connolly, Joyce DiDonato, Alice Coote, and Iestyn Davies. The English Concert has toured extensively, and recent highlights include European and US tours with Alice Coote, Joyce DiDonato, David Daniels, and Andreas Scholl as well as the orchestra's first tour to mainland China. Harry Bicket directed The English Concert and Choir in Bach's Mass in B Minor at the 2012 Leipzig Bachfest and later that year at the BBC proms, a performance that was televised for BBC4. The English Concert's discography includes more than 100 recordings with Trevor Pinnock for Deutsche Grammophon Archiv, and a series of critically acclaimed CDs for Harmonia Mundi with violinist Andrew Manze. Recordings with Harry Bicket have been widely praised, including Lucy Crowe's debut solo recital, Il caro Sassone. In October, EMI Classics released Sound the Trumpet, a recording of Baroque music for trumpet with Alison Balsom and The English Concert directed by Trevor Pinnock. A recording of music by Handel with Alice Coote was released in the autumn of 2014. The English Concert works with several distinguished guest directors, including violinist Fabio Biondi and harpsichordist Laurence Cummings.

Program Information
Sunday, March 13 at 2:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
THE ENGLISH CONCERT
Harry Bicket, Artistic Director and Conductor
Iestyn Davies, Countertenor (Orlando)
Erin Morley, Soprano (Angelica)
Carolyn Sampson, Soprano (Dorinda)
Sasha Cooke, Mezzo-Soprano (Medoro)
Kyle Ketelsen, Bass-Baritone (Zoroastro)

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL Orlando (concert performance)

Pre-concert talk starts at 1:00 PM in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage with Benjamin Sosland, Assistant Dean for the Kovner Fellowships, Administrative Director of Juilliard Historical Performance.

Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.

Ticket Information
Tickets, priced $31-$90, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org.

For Carnegie Hall Corporation presentations taking place in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, a limited number of seats, priced at $10, will be available day-of-concert beginning at 11:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:00 noon on Sunday until one hour before the performance or until supply lasts. The exceptions are Carnegie Hall Family Concerts and gala events. These $10 tickets are available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis at the Carnegie Hall Box Office only. There is a two-ticket limit per customer.

In addition, for all Carnegie Hall presentations in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage a limited number of partial view (seats with obstructed or limited sight lines or restricted leg room) will be sold for 50% of the full price. For more information on this and other discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts. Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.