Countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen to Star In Ars Lyrica Houston's 24/25 Season Opener

Baroque ensemble Ars Lyrica Houston's 24/25 season opener will feature countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen and soprano Hannah DePriest performing Bach, Handel, and Hasse. On Friday, September 20 in Zilkha Hall, The Hobby Center, the singers will perform two rarely heard solo cantatas with Ars Lyrica's renowned orchestra, before joining together in duets from Hasse's Marc-Antonio e Cleopatra.

Since his time at the Houston Grand Opera studio, countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen has taken the world by storm. Aryeh returns to Houston after a sold-out summer run at Glyndebourne in the title role of Handel's Giulio Cesare. 

Emerging lyric soprano Hannah DePriest will make her Ars Lyrica debut in September. Acclaimed for being a “natural Handelian, shining of tone and finely poised of expression” (Chicago Classical Review), Hannah features on a glittering solo cantata by Handel. The program concludes with Aryeh and Hannah performing arias and duets from J.A. Hasse's Marc'Antonio e Cleopatra, the same piece of music for which Ars Lyrica Houston received a Grammy nomination for Best Opera in 2011. 

Ars Lyrica Artistic Director Matthew Dirst speaks about the featured artists: "Aryeh has really become a complete artist, equipped with a great voice and excellent dramatic instinct, and I'm very much looking forward to his return for our 2024/25 season opener. Hannah came to sing for me last year and I was immediately taken by her ravishing voice and lovely demeanor. She's recently appeared—to great acclaim—with Haymarket Opera in Chicago, and she'll debut in Houston with us on Sep 20. She and Aryeh ought to be a great match, with both voices simultaneously lush and crystal clear.”

From August 12-18, audiences can purchase Buy One Get One Free tickets to In Praise of Virtue as part of Houston Theater Week using code: HOUARTS. 

Performance Details

In Praise of Virtue
Friday, September 20 at 7:30pm
Zilkha Hall, The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts

In-person tickets: Regular: $40-80, Student: $15
Digital tickets: $20 per household

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