Music of the Baroque (MOB) continues its 2021-2022 season with five glorious concert programs February-May 2022:
Feb. 18-20
“The Chevalier,” written and directed by Bill Barclay with original music by Joseph Bologne and others; featuring Music of the Baroque conducted by Dame Jane Glover – Chicago Premiere; presented in partnership with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA), the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts and Concert Theater Works
“The Chevalier” is about the life and music of 18th-century Black composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a master composer, virtuoso violinist, a friend of Mozart’s, music teacher to Marie Antoinette, the finest fencer in Europe, general of Europe’s first Black regiment and a crusader for the abolishment of slavery. Taking a “concert theater” approach and featuring the interplay of four actors with orchestral and chamber music excerpts, Barclay blends Bologne’s remarkable history with his own compositions, ultimately conflating the French Revolution with the social and political unrest in society today. “The Chevalier” is sponsored by Wintrust.
Tickets: “The Chevalier” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, at the North Shore Center in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd. and 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20, at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Individual concert tickets are $25-$100 and are available now through the box offices of the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts (www.northshorecenter.org) and Symphony Center (www.cso.org). Discounts for groups, students and seniors are available. Information about the Feb. 18 performance at the Kehrein Center for the Arts, 5628 W. Washington Blvd in Chicago will be announced at a later date at www.baroque.org. Visit venue sites for COVID Protocols.
Feb. 27-28
“McGill Plays Mozart,” conducted by Dame Jane Glover, with guest clarinetist Anthony McGill
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 27, The North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, Ill.
7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28, The Harris Theater in Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph Dr., Chicago.
Mozart scholar and MOB Music Director Glover joins forces with Chicago native and New York Philharmonic principal clarinet and first African-American principal player McGill for Mozart’s gorgeous Clarinet Concerto. Mozart’s haunting Symphony No. 40 in G Minor and Overture to “Lucio Silla,” written when Mozart was just 15 years old, complete the program. This concert is sponsored by the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation.
Tickets: $25-$95. For tickets or more info, including COVID-19 protocol updates, visit www.baroque.org.
March 20-21
“Classical Heroines,” conducted by Nicholas Kraemer
7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 20, The North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, Ill.
7:30 p.m. Monday, March 21, The Harris Theater in Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph Dr., Chicago
Coinciding with Women’s History Month, Kraemer returns for this fascinating program exploring the tension between 18th-century operatic heroines’ traditional roles as wives, girlfriends and lovers and the undeniable sheer power of the female voice. Baroque specialist Amanda Forsythe (soprano) sings Cleopatra’s aria “Da tempeste” from Handel’s “Giulio Cesare,” Haydn’s “Scena di Berenice,” Dido’s famous lament from Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas,” and more.
Tickets: $25-$95. For tickets or more info, including COVID-19 protocol updates, visit www.baroque.org.
April 10-11
“Easter Oratorio,” conducted by Dame Jane Glover
7:30 p.m., Sunday, April 10, The North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, Ill.
7:30 p.m., Monday, April 11, The Harris Theater in Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph Dr., Chicago
Palm Sunday weekend, Glover leads the Music of the Baroque Chorus, Orchestra, and four world-renowned soloists—Yulia Van Doren (soprano), Elizabeth DeShong (mezzo-soprano), James Gilchrist (tenor) and Michael Sumuel (bass-baritone)—in Bach’s imaginative Easter Oratorio, a journey from a cavern’s darkness into the light of heaven. This concert is sponsored by The Negaunee Foundation.
Tickets: $25-$95. For tickets or more info, including COVID-19 protocol updates, visit www.baroque.org.
May 8-9
“The Brothers Haydn,” conducted by Dame Jane Glover
7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 8, The North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, Ill.
7:30 p.m. Monday, May 9, The Harris Theater in Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph Dr., Chicago
The musical brothers Haydn were no strangers to sibling rivalry. Joseph traveled in fancy musical circles in Esterházy; Michael set up shop in Salzburg where he became friendly with the Mozart family. Glover leads a celebration of each man’s unique artistry. Featured works include Michael Haydn’s Symphony No. 26—until 1907, believed to be by Mozart—and Joseph Haydn’s “Creation Mass,” declared by one of his contemporaries, “the greatest work of a very great man.” Featuring Heidi Stober (soprano), Meg Bragle (mezzo-soprano), Michael St. Peter (tenor) and Tyler Duncan (baritone).
Tickets: $25-$95. For tickets or more info, including COVID-19 protocol updates, visit www.baroque.org.
About Music of the Baroque
Under the direction of internationally acclaimed British conductor Dame Jane Glover, Music of the Baroque occupies a special place in the rich cultural life of Chicago. 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.
Over the past five 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 the work of Music of the Baroque through radio broadcasts and recordings on 98.7 WFMT Radio.
Through its "Strong Voices" program, Music of the Baroque conducts arts education to support and enhance music education programs at Chicago public high schools. Music of the Baroque is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. For more information about Music of Baroque visit www.baroque.org.
