Music of the Baroque (MOB) officially opens its 2022-2023 Season with its first performance in over three decades of George Frideric Handel’s final oratorio, “Jephtha,” 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 18 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 at the Harris Theater | Millennium Park. MOB Music Director Dame Jane Glover conducts.
Working furiously while his eyesight was failing, Handel began work in 1751 on “Jephtha,” based on story of Jephtha, from the biblical book of Judges, who promises God that if he is victorious in battle, he will sacrifice the first creature he sees when he returns. That person ends up being his daughter Iphis. Will Jephtha be forced to follow through on his vow? “Jephtha” featuring an English libretto by Rev. Thomas Morrell, debuted in 1752. It was Handel’s last major work, and is considered one of his most beautiful masterpieces, notable for its emotional intensity, directness and restraint.
Dame Jane Glover commented, “We've been longing to do a Handel oratorio for many years. And the reason we chose ‘Jephtha,’ which is actually Handel’s last oratorio—and in my opinion, one of the very greatest—is that it’s intensely personal. As well as bringing all those other dramatic skills and musical skills to the table, Handel was going blind at the end of his life. This, of course, is a disaster for a musician. It was a disaster for Beethoven to be deaf. But it was a disaster also for Handel to be blind. Because if you can't see to put notes on the page, if you can't write, then you can't compose. And this became intolerable for him. Despite this, the music is remarkable. Expect some magnificent and challenging, but dramatically viable and relevant singing from the Music of the Baroque Chorus.”
Joining Glover and members of the MOB Orchestra and Chorus will be six featured soloists:
• David Portillo, Tenor (Jephtha). Portillo has been praised by Opera News for “high notes with ease, singing with a luxuriant warm glow that seduced the ear as he bounded about the stage with abandon.” These performances mark Portillo’s MOB debut.
• Lauren Snouffer, Soprano (Iphis). In reviewing Snuffer in performance, Bach Track cited her “mastery of her soprano that was as inviting as it was well-tempered, as colorful as it was secure.” These performances mark the GRAMMY-nominated artist’s MOB debut.
• Clara Osowski, Mezzo-Soprano (Storge). Osowski has been described as one who sings “from inside the music with unaffected purity and sincerity” (UK Telegraph). These concerts mark her MOB debut.
• Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Countertenor (Hamor). Cohen, making his MOB debut, has been acclaimed as “young star” and “complete artist” by The New York Times and "extravagantly gifted... poised to redefine what’s possible for singers of this distinctive voice type” by the San Francisco Chronicle.
• Neal Davies, Bass-Baritone (Zebul). Davies has been a regular guest of the Edinburgh Festival and BBC Proms. He last appeared with MOB in March 2019.
• Katelyn Lee, Soprano (The Angel). Lee is a member of the MOB Chorus and a teaching artist with the “Strong Voices” arts education program. She last appeared as a soloist with MOB last September.
Tickets:
Music of the Baroque presents two performances of Handel’s “Jephtha”
• 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie,
9501 Skokie Blvd.(www.northshorecenter.org);
• 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19 at the Harris Theater | Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph (www.harristheaterchicago.org);
Tickets range from $25-$100. Visit www.baroque.org or call 312.551.1414
Student Go For Free at the Harris Theater:
By popular demand, students will once again be able to attend any of Music of the Baroque’s seven performances at the Harris Theater during the 2022-2023 season free of charge. Students can reserve up to two complimentary tickets per valid student ID by visiting www.baroque.org or calling 312.551.1414. Student tickets will also be available at the Harris Theater box office starting two hours prior to the performance.
About Music of the Baroque:
Long recognized as one of the region’s top classical groups, Music of the Baroque’s professional chorus and orchestra is one of the leading ensembles in the country devoted to the performance of eighteenth-century works. The 2022-2023 marks the 20th anniversaries of Music Director Dame Jane Glover and Principal Guest Conductor Nicholas Kraemer. Andrew Megill was named Chorus Director in April 2022.
Over the past four decades, Music of the Baroque has presented premiere performances of many early masterpieces, including Monteverdi’s operas and 1610 Vespers, Georg Philipp Telemann’s “Day of Judgment,” Mozart’s “Idomeneo,” and numerous Handel operas and oratorios. The ensemble has drawn particular praise throughout its history for its performances of the major choral and orchestral works of J. S. Bach and Handel, Mozart, and Haydn.
Opera News calls Music of the Baroque “one of Chicago’s musical glories” and the Chicago Sun-Times writes, “Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra may be the big guys on the local classical music scene, but in terms of sheer quality of performance…Music of the Baroque inhabits the same stratosphere.”
Music of the Baroque draws audiences from across the Chicago metropolitan area, performing regularly at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago and the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, as well as at intimate Chicago and suburban churches.
Listeners across the country enjoy Music of the Baroque’s work through radio broadcasts and recordings on 98.7WFMT Radio.
Music of the Baroque's available recordings include "Messiah—Live in Chicago" recorded live in November 2021; "Bach's Mass in B Minor" recorded live during the 2019-2020 season; and "On This Night," recorded live during the ensemble's 2017 and 2014 holiday concerts and conducted by William Jon Gray.
Through its "Strong Voices" program, Music of the Baroque conducts arts education to support and enhance music education programs at Chicago public high schools.
For more information about Music of the Baroque, visit www.baroque.org.