Regular readers probably know that every December, American Bach Soloists (ABS) presents a series of performances of George Frideric Handel’s HWV 56 oratorio Messiah at Grace Cathedral. However, last year, those Christmas-themed concerts were supplemented with a special event entitled A Baroque New Year’s Eve at the Opera. Beginning at 4 p.m. on New Year’s Eve in the more intimate setting of Herbst Theatre (at least more intimate than Grace!), ABS presented a program of arias, duets, and instrumental selections, allowing sufficient time for those in the audience then to move on to wherever they were planning to celebrate ringing in the New Year at midnight. This offering was sufficiently successful that it will be held again at the end of next month. Details for both offerings are as follows:
The vocal soloists for Messiah will be soprano Hélène Brunet, mezzo Rebecca Powers, tenor Steven Brennfleck, and baritone Hadleigh Adams, joining the American Bach Choir and the ABS instrumentalists. All performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 11, Thursday, December 12, and Friday, December 13, respectively. Grace Cathedral is located at the top of Nob Hill at 1100 California Street, between Taylor Street and Jones Street. Ticket prices range between $38 and $125. Tickets for any of the performances may be purchased from a single Web page on the ABS Web site. Each of the three performance dates has a hyperlink showing the different areas in the Grace sanctuary corresponding to the different price levels. Mousing over any of these areas shows which seats are available for sale.
Mezzo Sarah Coit and baritone Hadleigh Adams (courtesy of American Bach Soloists)
Adams will also be one of the two vocalists performing in A Baroque New Year’s Eve at the Opera. He will be joined by mezzo Sarah Coit. The vocal selections will be taken from the operas of Handel, Jean-Philippe Rameau, and Antonio Vivaldi. The instrumental selections will also turn to both Vivaldi and Handel, as well as Marin Marais.
As already noted, this program will begin at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, December 31. The entrance to Herbst Theatre is on the ground floor of the Veterans Building at 401 Van Ness Avenue on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. Ticket prices are $125 (Premium Orchestra), $90 (Orchestra and Boxes), $65 (side Orchestra and Dress Circle), $50 (rear seats in center Orchestra and Dress Circle and front seats in Balcony), and $25 (remaining seats in all sections). Tickets may be purchased online through a City Box Office event page, which includes a floor plan that shows the number of seats available in the different sections.
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