Congratulations SFRV!

Have you picked up your issue SF Weekly's "Your San Francisco?" We just wanted to take a minute to congratulate our early music colleagues San Francisco Renaissance Voices for winning "Best Classical Music – 2010." A few of our Chorale singers sing with SFRV, including Jeff Fields, Raymond Martinez, Kathy McKee (who is also the Assistant Music Director of SFRV - pictured) and Helene Zindarsian.

Into the crazy world of Orlando: From our Handel expert (and Music Director) Nic McGegan

Nicholas McGegan joins us again to let us know what's so special about George Frideric Handel's opera Orlando, which the orchestra and chorale will perform in April:

Pictured above is the autographed score of Orlando, one of a series of so-called magic operas by Handel. While the sources of many of his plots are derived from classical history or mythology, the 1733 opera Orlando (as well as Ariodante and Alcina, both of 1735) is based on an Italian epic poem from the Renaissance – Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. Its story is one of extravagant valour and passion taken to the point of madness. Indeed, one could say that works in this genre were parodied by Cervantes in Don Quixote.

Extravagance, passion and madness are, of course, the life blood of opera and it is clear that Handel was inspired by the subject to produce one of his finest works. This is the last opera he wrote for the great alto castrato Senesino (left) for whom he had composed operas for a dozen years. Senesino was a difficult character but a superb singer and, unlike Farinelli, a splendid actor. This must have been a perfect role for him. The Mad Scene that forms the climax to the Second Act is one of the moments of Baroque Opera. Gone are all the normal conventions of the genre, even normal rhythms go awry as Orlando descends (in his own deluded mind) into Hell in five/eight time.

Into this crazy world, Handel, or rather his librettist, introduces two characters who are not found in Ariosto’s original. One is the magus Zoroastro who watches over the mad Orlando and eventually cures him of his insane love for Angelica. He is a wise father figure who will reappear in the Magic Flute as Sarastro. The other is the shepherdess Dorinda who represents an ordinary ‘down to earth girl’ mixed up in the rarified world of chivalrous romance. Her reactions are sometimes comic but she is also emotionally hurt by the crazy grandees about her, who use her and occasionally abuse her. However, she is the contact between us, the audience, and the other characters. This role was created for Celeste Gismondi, a Neapolitan comedienne, newly arrived in London. Obviously, she was an excellent singer and pert actress. It is with her character that we most often sympathise.

Handel’s music is of the highest level throughout and, because of the story, he was inspired to experiment with glorious results. Apart from the famous Mad Scene, the Trio at the end of the First Act is one of the finest ensembles he ever wrote and the aria during which Orlando finally collapses would not be out of place in a Bach Passion.

All this emotional extravagance was matched on stage by new scenery and costumes (like pictured left) specially made for the production. This was unusual at the time and was even noted in the newspapers. In addition, there were flying machines, including a chariot drawn by dragons to take Orlando out of Hell. We are, of course, giving the work in concert, so the audience will have to imagine the magic world on stage that went hand in hand with Handel’s glorious music.

Behind the scenes of "The Passion of Dido:" Rehearsal at Walt Disney Hall

This is the last post about November's concert, we promise! Here are pictures from our rehearsal at Walt Disney Hall in L.A.!

Since the supertitles say, "but, ah! I fear, I pity his too much," we must be in the first act.

Let's skip ahead to our favorite parts: Jill Grove sings the SORCERESS: "Appear at my call, and share in the Fame/Of a Mischief shall make all Carthage flame./Appear!"

The Chorale sings the FAIRIES: "Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!"

William Berger sings AENEAS: "What shall lost Aeneas do?" (Of course, Susan Graham's DIDO doesn't buy the self pity. You can see in her face that she's about to deliver one of our favorite lines: "Thus on the fatal Banks of Nile,/ Weeps the deceitful Crocodile.")

Susan Graham sings DIDO's lament: "Death is now a welcome guest."

More pictures on flickr.

Behind the scenes of "The Passion of Dido:" Rehearsal at Mondavi

This past Saturday at the Mondavi Center in Davis, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale performed the final concert of their critically-acclaimed program dedicated to the English composer Henry Purcell. Conducted by Music Director Nicholas McGegan, the concert featured the all-sung masque Dido and Aeneas with mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, baritone William Berger, sopranos Cyndia Sieden and Céline Ricci, contralto Jill Grove and one of the Chorale's own tenors – Brian Thorsett. We captured a few shots backstage and during the dress rehearsal. Local photographer Randi Lynn Beach was on hand to take much better photos than ours to help publicize our 30th Anniversary (!!!) next season.

Say "historically informed performance!" Say "continuo harpsichord!" How about just "cheeeeese!" Randi shoots Nic at the harpsichord.

Randi shoots the orchestra as they practice Purcell's perky Suite from Abdelazar, a rather bizarre and gruesome play by Aphra Behn.

Nic warms up the orchestra's smile muscles during a short interlude. They don't call him the "sunniest conductor in classical music" for nothing.

Randi swoops in for another shot while the orchestra rehearses. Left to right, cellists Bill and Phoebe, lutist David (on theorbo), bassist Kristin and organist Hanneke.

Our show stealers: the Chorale!

See the rest of the photos on flickr!