For the first time in its 26-year history, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO) proudly presents a newly-commissioned work, written specifically for the Orchestra and its Baroque instruments. The one-act opera, entitled To Hell and Back, is by San Francisco composer Jake Heggie, with a libretto by New York librettist Gene Scheer. The one-act opera combines a modern aesthetic with mythological stories with Baroque stylistic elements.
The opera will feature young Canadian-Armenian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian and Broadway legend
Patti LuPone.
The world premiere of Heggie's
To Hell and Back will be part of the PBO's repertory
Metamorphoses, which also includes Locatelli's
Concerto grosso Op. 7 No. 6, Il pianto d'Arianna and Geminiani's
The Inchanted Forrest.
Concert Info:
Mountain View – 8:00PM Thursday, Nov. 2 – Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts (500 Castro St.)
San Francisco – 8:00PM Friday, Nov. 3 – Herbst Theatre (401 Van Ness Avenue)
Berkeley – 8:00PM Saturday, Nov. 4 – First Congregational Church (2345 Channing Way) and 7:30PM Sunday, Nov. 5 (same venue)
Tickets ($29-$67) for the San Francisco and Berkeley performances are available through City Box Office at 415-392-4400.
Tickets for the Mountain View performance are available at 650-903-6000.
Also, tickets for both venues can be purchased online at
www.philharmonia.org.
For more information, call Philharmonia at 415-252-1288.
Patti LuPone is known for her acclaimed and Tony award-winning roles on and off Broadway.
She recently concluded a run as Mrs. Lovett in
John Doyle's hit Broadway production of
Sweeney Todd.
Other significant credits include roles in
Gypsy,
Noises Off,
Master Class,
A Little Night Music,
Passion,
Anything Goes, and
Evita in locales such as London, San Francisco, and Ravinia, in addition to New York.
To Hell and Back is a new venture for LuPone, who will be singing with a period-instrument orchestra for the first time.
Isabel Bayrakdarian won first prize in the 2000 Operalia competition, and since then has appeared in notable opera houses across the globe.
Her signature roles include many Mozart and Handelian heroines.
A diverse performer, she is becoming known as an expert on the music of
Armenia's iconic composer, Gomidas, and has appeared with
Canada's two pre-eminent period-instrument orchestras, Tafelmusik and Les Violons du Roy.
To Hell and Back is the first piece written for Bayrakdarian's voice.
Jake Heggie's recent ventures include the operas
Dead Man Walking and
The End of the Affair.
He has written pieces for organizations from San Francisco Opera and Houston Grand Opera to Oakland East Bay Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmic and Chanticleer.
Heggie was the recipient of a 2005-06 Guggenheim Fellowship, and is currently working on a commission for the Metropolitan Opera.
The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra has earned much recent acclaim, both at home and internationally.
The group was chosen as Musical America's "Ensemble of the Year" for 2004, and since then has made debuts at Carnegie Hall in New York, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Royal Albert Hall in London, and at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
