Now that the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale (PBO) has released its brochure for the 2022/23 season (as engaging as it is attractive), this site is now equipped to account for all the performances that will be taking place in San Francisco. Once again, the season will consist of six programs, all of which will take place in Herbst Theatre, located at 401 Van Ness Avenue on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. However, there will also be an additional staged production, to be given three performances upstairs from Herbst in the Taube Atrium Theater, part of the Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera, which is located on the fourth floor. Specifics, in order of the date of performance, are as follows:
Thursday, October 20, 7 p.m.: Music Director Richard Egarr will lead both the Orchestra and the Chorale in a performance of George Frideric Handel’s HWV 68 dramatic oratorio Theodora. The title character (soprano Julie Roset) is a Christian of noble birth. Didymus (countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen) is a Roman soldier that has secretly converted to Christianity and has fallen in love with Theodora. Valens (bass-baritone Dashon Burton) is the Roman governor, who has punished Theodora for not celebrating the festival for the emperor’s birthday. As might be expected, things do not go well for Theodora and Didymus, both of whom sing one last duet before being put to death.
Friday, November 18, 8 p.m.: Music Director Laureate Nicholas McGegan will return to the PBO podium to lead a program entitled Vaudeville Baroque. The second half of the program will be devoted to an extended suite of instrumental music from Jean-Philippe Rameau’s opéra-ballet Les surprises de l’Amour. The first half of the program will also present an extended suite by one of Rameau’s contemporaries. The source is another opéra-ballet, Le carnaval de Venise, composed by André Campra.
Thursday, December 15, 7 p.m.: If it’s December, it must be time for Handel’s HWV 56 oratorio Messiah. Once again Egarr will lead both the Orchestra and the Chorale. The soloists will be soprano Stephanie True, mezzo Rihab Chaieb, tenor Andrew Tortise, and bass-baritone Joshua Bloom. Enough said?
Thursday, February 9, 8 p.m.: PBO will continue its tradition of devoting one subscription concert to the nineteenth century. This time the featured composer will be Camille Saint-Saëns with the performance of his two cello concertos, Opus 33 in A minor and Opus 119 in D minor (which was actually composed in 1902). Cellist Steven Isserlis will return to PBO as the guest soloist. The program will conclude with Johannes Brahms’ Opus 73 (second) symphony in D major. While McGegan presented at least one of Brahms’ serenades during his tenure as Director, this may be the first time than PBO has performed one of the symphonies. Egarr will conduct.
Friday, March 31, 8 p.m.: Kristian Bezuidenhout will visit the PBO podium as guest conductor. He will also lead the ensemble from the keyboard of his fortepiano in a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 466 piano concerto in D minor. In the second half of the program, he will conduct Mozart’s K. 319 symphony in B-flat major. This will be preceded by a symphony in G minor composed by one of Mozart’s major influences, Johann Christian Bach. The program will begin with the overture to Joseph Martin Kraus’ VB 33 secular dramatic composition Olympie.
Thursday, April 20–Saturday, April 22, 8 p.m.: These will be the three performances of the special event held in the Taube Atrium Theater. Louisa Muller will stage a performance of Handel’s early (HWV 11) opera Amadigi di Gaula. The cast consists of only four high voices. The title role will be sung by countertenor Anthony Ross Costanzo. (For those that enjoy verbal games, Costanzo’s appearance means that both “ANC” and “ARC” will be featured as soloists this season!) The other roles will be taken by soprano Deanna Breiwick (Amadigi’s lover Oriana), soprano Nicole Heaston (the sorceress Melissa), and countertenor Kangmin Justin Kim (Amadigi’s companion turned rival Dardano). Egarr will conduct an orchestra that makes prominent use of wind instruments.
Thursday, April 27, 8 p.m.: The final program of the season will feature the world premiere of a composition by Mason Bates, which has not yet been given a title. The Chorale will join the Orchestra in performing a Mass setting by Georg Muffat. This will involve eight vocal soloists, sopranos Maya Kherani and Nola Richardson, countertenors Siman Chung and Reginald Mobley, tenors Spencer Britten and James Reese, and bass-baritones Cody Quattlebaum and Jonathan Woody. The instrumental selections will be a multi-layered sonata by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber and a lament for string and continuo by Johann Heinrich Schmelzer. Egarr will conduct.
There are a variety of subscription options for both the full season and those not wishing to attend all six of these concerts. A single Web page has been created for all of the subscription options. There is a separate Web page for tickets to individual concerts, including the special event in the Taube Atrium Theater. Further information may be obtained by calling Patron Services at 415-295-1900, which is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those interested in attending the Spring Gala, which will include attending the first performance of Amadigi di Gaula on April 20, should contact PBO through electronic mail to development@philharmonia.org.
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