The English Concert
Handel's Ariodante (opera in concert)
Performers
The English Concert
Harry Bicket, Artistic Director and Conductor
Joyce DiDonato, Mezzo-Soprano (Ariodante)
Christiane Karg, Soprano (Ginevra)
Mary Bevan, Soprano (Dalinda)
Sonia Prina, Contralto (Polinesso)
David Portillo, Tenor (Lurcanio)
Matthew Brook, Bass-Baritone (King of Scotland)
Tyson Miller, Tenor (Odoardo)
Program
HANDEL Ariodante (concert performance)
Event Duration
The program will last approximately four hours, including two 20-minute intermissions. Please note that there will be no late seating before the first intermission.Pre-Concert Talk
Pre-concert talk starts at 1:00 PM in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage with Benjamin Sosland, Assistant Dean for the Kovner Fellowships, Administrative Director of Juilliard Historical Performance.At a Glance
Bios
The English Concert
With an unsurpassed reputation for inspiring performances of Baroque and Classical music,
The English Concert ranks among the finest chamber orchestras in the world. Such standing
is the result of tireless work at home, on the road, and in the studio since 1973, guided
along the way by founder Trevor Pinnock, his successor Andrew Manze, and current Artistic
Director Harry Bicket. The orchestra's award-winning discography of more than 100
recordings features masterworks from Bach to Purcell and Handel to Mozart, as well as some
of the most renowned artists in recent history. Groundbreaking collaborations in musical
theater and opera have helped to form longstanding relationships with exceptional artists
and venues. From the Buxton Festival or the Elizabethan settings of Shakespeare's Globe and
the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse to challenging perceptions of gender through the music of
Handel, The English Concert steps outside the traditional concert hall to reach new
audiences. This season sees Handel's Messiah brought to life on stage at the
Bristol Old Vic through director Tom Morris's dramatic vision, while next summer the
musical treasures of Jewish communities will be put on show at Wigmore Hall. The new season
is also profoundly influenced by literature, as the orchestra celebrates the 400th
anniversary of the deaths of both William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes. The
adventures of Don Quixote are recounted through the music of Purcell and Telemann, while
musical representations of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Giulio
Cesare set sail on a tour to the Far East. Completing the round-the-world trip, The
English Concert's series of Handel operas in concert, commissioned by Carnegie Hall,
continues to flourish after the success of Radamisto in 2013, Theodora
and Alcina in 2014, and Hercules and Orlando in 2015 and
2016.
Harry Bicket
Harry Bicket made his Glyndebourne Festival debut in 1996 with Peter Sellars's landmark
production of Theodora, and has since become internationally renowned as an opera
and concert conductor of distinction. Noted particularly for his interpretation of Baroque
and Classical repertoire, he was appointed artistic director of The English Concert in
2007. In 2013, Mr. Bicket also became chief conductor of Santa Fe Opera, opening the
following season with a critically acclaimed Fidelio.
From New York to Los Angeles, and Hong Kong to Stockholm, Mr. Bicket has performed with
great orchestras and at opera houses the world over. Following his celebrated production of
Rodelinda with Renée Fleming and David Daniels in 2004, he has been a regular
guest at the Metropolitan Opera. The current season is no different, with visits to Lyric
Opera of Chicago and The Cleveland Orchestra, as well as extensive touring with The English
Concert to the US, Europe, and the Far East.
Mr. Bicket's production of Handel's Orlando for the Royal Opera House received an
Olivier Award nomination for Best New Opera Production, and he has received both Grammy and
Gramophone award nominations for his recordings with David Daniels, Susan Graham, and
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson.
Joyce DiDonato
In demand on the concert and recital circuit, Joyce DiDonato has recently held residencies
at Carnegie Hall and London's Barbican Centre; toured extensively in South America, Europe,
and Asia; and appeared as a guest soloist at the BBC's Last Night of the Proms. Recent
opera highlights have included her first Charlotte in Werther at the Royal Opera
House under Sir Antonio Pappano; the title role in Maria Stuarda at the
Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, and Barcelona's Liceu; the title role in
Alcina on tour with The English Concert and Harry Bicket; and Marguerite in La
damnation de Faust with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Sir Simon Rattle.
Ms. DiDonato opened her 2016-2017 season in a gala concert with the Seattle Symphony under
Ludovic Morlot; she also performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Riccardo Muti
and in recital with Philippe Jordan. Later in the season, she appears with the Berliner
Philharmoniker under Yannick Nézet-Séguin. On the opera stage, she makes her debut in the
title role of Semiramide in a new production at the Bayerische Staatsoper under
Michele Mariotti; returns to Strasbourg as Dido (Les Troyens) under John Nelson;
and reprises the role of Sesto (La clemenza di Tito) under Mr. Nézet-Séguin in
Baden-Baden.
An exclusive recording artist with Erato / Warner Classics, Ms. DiDonato's Joyce and
Tony: Live from Wigmore Hall (with Sir Antonio Pappano) won the 2016 Grammy Award for
Best Classical Vocal Album. Her Grammy Award-winning Diva, Divo comprises arias
for male and female characters, celebrating the rich dramatic world of the mezzo-soprano. A
retrospective of her first 10 years of recordings entitled ReJoyce! The Best of Joyce
DiDonato was released in 2013. Other honors include the Gramophone Artist of
the Year and Recital of the Year awards, three German ECHO Klassik awards as Female Singer
of the Year, and induction into the Gramophone Hall of Fame.
Ms. DiDonato's most recent recording, In War & Peace: Harmony Through Music,
was released last November, accompanied by a 20-city international tour.
Christiane Karg
Christiane Karg studied at the Mozarteum Salzburg and the Conservatory of Music in Verona.
She was a member of the International Opera Studio at the Hamburg State Opera before
joining, in 2008, the ensemble of Oper Frankfurt, where her roles have included Susanna,
Musetta, Pamina, Servilia, Zdenka (Arabella), the title role in La
Calisto, Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier), and Mélisande.
In 2006, Ms. Karg made her debut at the Salzburg Festival, and has since returned to sing
Amor (Orfeo ed Euridice) with Riccardo Muti and Zerlina (Don Giovanni)
with Yannick Nézet-Séguin. She is a regular guest at the Theater an der Wien, where she has
sung Ismene (Mitridate), Télaïre (Castor et Pollux), and Héro
(Béatrice et Bénédict). She has sung Ighino (Palestrina), Pamina, and
Blanche (Dialogues des Carmélites) at Bayerische Staatsoper; Sophie at the
Semperoper Dresden; Musetta and Norina at Komische Oper Berlin; and Anne Trulove (The
Rake's Progress) at Opéra de Lille. In 2015, she made her debut at the Royal Opera
House, Covent Garden, singing Pamina, and her US opera debut singing Susanna at Lyric Opera
of Chicago; in 2016, she made her debut at La Scala in Milan singing Sophie, and returned
to Chicago for Pamina.
In concert, Ms. Karg has worked with such conductors as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Herbert
Blomstedt, Daniel Harding, Mariss Jansons, and Christian Thielemann. A world-renowned
recitalist, she has appeared at the Musikverein in Vienna, Oji Hall in Tokyo, Schwarzenberg
Schubertiade, and Wigmore Hall, as well as the Edinburgh Festival. Other appearances
include the Mozarteum Salzburg, Vienna Konzerthaus, Essen, Cologne, Schwetzingen, Hamburg,
Innsbruck, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart.
Ms. Karg's recordings have twice been awarded the prestigious ECHO Klassik
award.
Sonia Prina
Sonia Prina is recognized worldwide as one of the leading contraltos of her generation.
Career highlights include the title role of Handel's Rinaldo at Teatro alla Scala
in Milan, the Zurich Opera House, and the Glyndebourne Festival; the title role in Mozart's
Ascanio in Alba at the Salzburg Festival; Clarice in Rossini's La pietra del
paragone at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; the title role of Handel's
Orlando at the Sydney Opera House; and the title role of Tamerlano at the
Bayerische Staatsoper.
Upcoming engagements include Mistress Quickly in Falstaff in Parma and Turin with
Roberto Abbado, Federica in Luisa Miller at the Liceu, and Beethoven's Symphony
No. 9 at Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms.
Ms. Prina regularly performs at venues that include La Scala, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées,
Opéra de Paris, Teatro Real in Madrid, Teatre Liceu in Barcelona, Sydney Opera House, Lyric
Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, and Opernhaus Zürich, as well
as the Salzburg and Aix-en-Province festivals.
Ms. Prina has performed the title roles of Handel operas that have included Giulio
Cesare and Orlando in Paris; Amadigi di Gaula in Naples;
Rinaldo in Zurich, and at La Scala and the Glyndebourne Festival; Silla
in Rome; and Tamerlano in Munich; as well as Bertarido in Rodelinda in
London and Vienna; Goffredo in Rinaldo at Lyric Opera of Chicago; and Amastre in
Serse in San Francisco and Houston.
Ms. Prina's recordings include Handel's Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno and
La resurrezione (Virgin); Vivaldi's La senna festeggiante, Ottone in
villa, and L'Olimpiade (Naïve); Monteverdi's Orfeo (Erato); Handel's
Lotario (DHM) and Rodelinda (Deutsche Grammophon); and the title roles in
both Gluck's and Handel's Ezio (Erato).
DVD releases include the title role of Ascanio in Alba (Deutsche Grammophon),
La pietra di paragone (Naïve), the title role of Handel's Rinaldo (DVD
Opus Arte), and a solo album featuring Vivaldi's Arie ritrovate with Accademia
Bizantina (Naïve). Three new albums are scheduled for release by the Glossa label: Handel's
Catone (title role), Handel's Silla (title role), and a solo album
featuring world premiere recordings of works by Gluck.
David Portillo
Praised for his impeccable clarity and beautiful tone, American tenor David Portillo has
emerged as a major lyric talent in opera and concert on both sides of the Atlantic.
Following his debut at the Vienna State Opera as Count Almaviva (Il barbiere di
Siviglia), he made debuts at the Aix-en-Provence Festival as Lurcanio (Ariodante) in a
new staging by Richard Jones, and at the Salzburg Festival in concert performances of La
favorite alongside Elīna Garanča and Juan Diego Flórez.
In the US, he recently made his debut with Lyric Opera of Chicago as David (Die
Meistersinger von Nürnberg) and has established strong relationships with many of
America's important companies, returning to Chicago as Andres (Wozzeck) under Sir
Andrew Davis and to Houston Grand Opera as Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), and debuting
at Washington National Opera as Ramiro (La Cenerentola). Mr. Portillo made his
Metropolitan Opera debut last season as Count Almaviva, and returns this season as Jaquino
(Fidelio) under Sebastian Weigle.
Last season, Mr. Portillo made his debut at the Glyndebourne Festival as David in David
McVicar's production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, before reuniting with
McVicar for his new production of Così fan tutte at Opera Australia. Following his
return to Aix-en-Provence as Pedrillo in Martin Kušej's new production of Die
Entführung aus dem Serail, Mr. Portillo has since reprised the role at the Théâtre de
Champs-Élysées with Le Cercle de l'Harmonie and Jérémie Rhorer, and will perform it again
this season for his debut at Dutch National Opera. Also this season, he makes his debut at
Oper Frankfurt as Tamino. Other international engagements have included Gonzalve
(L'heure espagnole) at the Saito Kinen Festival under Stéphane Denève, and
Ferdinand in Thomas Adès's The Tempest with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale
di Santa Cecilia in Rome conducted by the composer.
Matthew Brook
Matthew Brook has appeared as a soloist throughout Europe, Australia, North and South
America, and the Far East. He has worked extensively with conductors who include Sir John
Eliot Gardiner, Richard Hickox, Sir Charles Mackerras, Harry Christophers, Christophe
Rousset, Paul McCreesh, and Sir Mark Elder, and with orchestras and ensembles that have
included the London and Melbourne symphony orchestras; the Philharmonia, St. Petersburg
Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, and Freiburg Baroque orchestras; Orchestra of the Age of
Enlightenment; English Baroque Soloists; Gabrieli Consort & Players; The Sixteen; Royal
Northern Sinfonia; Orchestre National de Lille; Orchestre de Chambre de Paris; Orchestre
des Champs-Élysées; Hallé Orchestra; Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich; Collegium Vocale Gent; and
City of London Sinfonia.
Mr. Brook's recordings include Counsel in Sullivan's Trial by Jury and Friar Tuck
in Sullivan's Ivanhoe with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales for Chandos
Records; a Gramophone Award-winning recording of Handel's Dublin score of Messiah
and Acis and Galatea, as well as Bach's St. Matthew Passion and
B-Minor Mass, and most recently Handel's Esther, all with the Dunedin
Consort for Linn Records; and the King of Scotland in Handel's Ariodante with Il
Complesso Barocco and Alan Curtis for EMI/Virgin.
Recent and future highlights include Argenio in Handel's Imeneo at the Göttingen
International Handel Festival, Fauré's Requiem with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris,
Monteverdi's Vespers with the Dunedin Consort, Mozart's Requiem with the Fryderyk
Chopin Institute in Warsaw, Tippett's A Child of Our Time with the Hallé
Orchestra, Zoroastro in Orlando with The English Concert, Handel's
Messiah with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and with the Los Angeles
Philharmonic, the King of Scotland in Ariodante with the Staatstheater Stuttgart
and on tour with The English Concert, Bach's Lutheran Masses with the Academy of
Ancient Music, and performances of Bach's B-Minor Mass and Elgar's The Dream of
Gerontius with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Tyson Miller
Tyson Miller's recent engagements have included Pedrillo in Chas Rader-Shieber's
production of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Raoul de St. Brioche in
Lehár's The Merry Widow at Utah Opera, his debut at El Paso Opera as Remendado in
Bizet's Carmen, Acis in Handel's Acis and Galatea with Opera Piccola of
San Antonio, and Joe in Puccini's La fanciulla del West in a return to Santa Fe
Opera. From 2013 to 2015, while a resident artist with the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera,
Mr. Miller's roles included Gastone in La traviata, the Prince of Persia in
Turandot, Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, the Registrar in
Madame Butterfly, and Sellem in The Rake's Progress. During this time,
Mr. Miller performed roles in touring productions that included Nemorino in L'elisir
d'amore and Ferrando in Così fan tutte. In addition, at Utah Opera he covered
such roles as Nadir in Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles, Ferrando in Così fan
tutte, and Tom Rakewell in The Rake's Progress.
In 2013, Mr. Miller made his Utah Symphony debut as the tenor soloist in Handel's
Messiah, followed by a return engagement for the same piece during the 2014-2015
season. Additional debut performances in 2013 included Dorvil in Rossini's La scala di
seta and Florville in Rossini's Il signor Bruschino at the Lone Star Lyric
Theater Festival, followed by a return engagement performing the Duke in Milton Granger's
Talk Opera in the 2014 summer season.
Mr. Miller has enjoyed a long relationship with the Aspen Music Festival and School,
performing as both a young artist and student singer. During the 2013-2014 season, he
performed the role of Lord Geoffrey in Lowell Lieberman's The Picture of Dorian
Gray. In the 2012-2013 season, he performed the role of the Governor in
Candide, and sang the role of Bob Boles in a semi-staged version of Britten's
Peter Grimes alongside Anthony Dean Griffey and conducted by Robert Spano. Other
highlights with the Aspen Music Festival have included Pirelli in Sweeney Todd in
2012 and Action in West Side Story in 2011.