Boston Baroque Announces 2018-2019 Season

Conducted by music director Martin Pearlman, the season is anchored by a powerful new performing version of Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea by Pearlman. The season includes the Boston Baroque debuts of countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and soprano Layla Claire, with performances by renowned Baroque interpreters such as David Daniels, Nicholas Phan, Amanda Forsythe, and clarinetist Eric Hoeprich.

BOSTON, MA (March 2, 2018) - Grammy-nominated Boston Baroque has announced their 2018-2019 season, which includes celebrated masterpieces of the era performed by notable vocalists, instrumental soloists, and the Boston Baroque orchestra and chorus. In addition to the annual Messiah and New Year's Eve concerts, the season includes Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 paired with Mozart's Clarinet Concerto; Handel's oratorio Jephtha; and a semi-staged opera production of Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea in a new performing version by Martin Pearlman.

Season subscriptions start at $81 and may be purchased at bostonbaroque.org and 617-987-8600. Subscriptions are available beginning March 2 and single tickets will go on sale this summer.

The season opens on Friday, October 26 and Sunday, October 28 with Mozart and Beethoven at NEC's Jordan Hall. Martin Pearlman will lead the ensemble in Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 and Mozart's Clarinet Concerto with clarinetist Eric Hoeprich. As one of the world's leading champions of the Baroque clarinet, Hoeprich will perform one of Mozart's final pieces as it was originally composed, for the basset clarinet. Paired with Beethoven's dance-like Symphony No. 7, the season opening concert will bring these two delightful works from the Classical period to life.

The holiday season will come alive with two spectacular December performances: Handel's Messiah and a New Year's Gala concert. Messiah will take place December 7 and 8 at NEC's Jordan Hall, and will feature the Boston Baroque orchestra and chorus, with the debuts of soprano Layla Claire, countertenor Eric Jurenas, and tenor Norman Shankle. Bass-baritone Nathan Stark rounds out the cast and can also be seen in this spring's production of Fidelio. The New Year's Gala celebration on December 31 and January 1 at Sanders Theatre is a triumphant program designed to ring in the New Year with splendor, pairing Vivaldi's Violin Concerto performed by concertmaster Christina Day Martinson and Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 4. Champagne and chocolate will be offered at intermission to celebrate.

Handel's final oratorio Jephtha opens the second half of the season with an all-star cast Friday, March 8 and Sunday, March 10 at NEC's Jordan Hall. Tenor Nicholas Phan, last seen in 2016 in The Magic Flute, sings Jephtha; soprano Ava Pine, most recently seen in Messiah in 2017 is Iphis; countertenor David Daniels, who made his Boston Baroque debut in 2016, sings Jephtha's soldier Hamor; bass-baritone Dashon Burton performs Zebul in first return performance since 2015; mezzo-soprano Ann McMahon Quintero, who performed in 2017's Mozart's Requiem, sings Jephtha's wife Storge; and local soprano Sonja Tengblad, last seen in 2016's The Magic Flute, sings the Angel.

The final performance of the season, Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea, takes place on Friday, April 26 and Sunday, April 28 at NEC's Jordan Hall. The semi-staged production will present a compelling new performing version of the work by Martin Pearlman, who has composed new instrumental parts to accompany the singers at key dramatic moments. The parts are based on Monteverdi's other music and music of his contemporaries, but will still allow the singers maximum freedom in projecting their dramatic texts over the continuo along with new improvised harmonies and figurations. The performance will feature the Boston Baroque debuts of stage director Tara Faircloth and noted countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo (Nerone), and the American debut of Italian contralto Alessandra Visentin (Ottavia). Powerhouse soprano Amanda Forsthye is Poppea; countertenor John Holiday sings Ottone; bass Kevin Langan is Seneca; mezzo-soprano Margaret Lias sings Virtu and Nutrice; and soprano Sonja Tengblad plays Fortuna and Drusilla.

"We are proud to continue our tradition of presenting some of today's most exciting vocalists and instrumentalists alongside our Grammy nominated orchestra and chorus," says Executive Director Miguel Rodriguez. "Next season, we will see the much anticipated Boston Baroque debut of some of these amazing artists, and the return of other favorites, in exciting programs that span from the baroque to the classical period. All under the masterful music direction of Martin Pearlman."

Boston Baroque was the first Baroque orchestra founded in North America by music director and conductor Martin Pearlman. The four-time Grammy-nominated ensemble is widely regarded as being "Some of the finest American interpreters of music of this era," according to Fanfare Magazine. Pearlman leads Boston Baroque in an annual subscription concert series in Greater Boston, tours in the United States and Europe, and has produced more than 25 major recordings. Hailed for his "fresh, buoyant interpretations" and his "vivid realizations teeming with life," Pearlman has been acclaimed for over forty years in the orchestral, choral and operatic repertoire from Monteverdi to Beethoven.

bostonbaroque.org

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