Philharmonia Baroque & Nic McGegan's Final Season There

Famed conductor Nic McGegan's last season conducting Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra is coming up, and it is a fine one, including a production at Versailles! I heard about this in advance of the announcement, when I visited Versailles in February, but there was an embargo on the information at the time.

Anyway, here is the season; note that Leclair’s Scylla et Glaucus includes many of the same people involved with Le Temple de la Gloire and also the great Veronique Gens.

A Cosmic Notion

October 17–20, 2019

SHAW The Listeners

HANDEL Eternal Source of Light Divine

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

Arwen Myers, soprano

Avery Amereau, contralto

Reginald Mobley, countertenor

Dashon Burton, bass-baritone

Philharmonia Chorale, Bruce Lamott, director

Thursday October 17 @ 8 pm | Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Friday October 18 @ 7:30 pm | First United Methodist Church, Palo Alto

Saturday October 19 @ 8 pm | First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Sunday October 20 @ 4 pm | First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Mozart’s Musings

November 13–17, 2019

MOZART Overture to La finta semplice, K. 51

GRÉTRY Orchestral suite from Zémire et Azor

MOZART Concerto for Oboe in C major, K. 314

MOZART Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550

Jeannette Sorrell, conductor

Gonzalo X. Ruiz, oboe

Wednesday November 13 @ 7:30 pm | Bing Concert Hall, Stanford

Friday November 15 @ 8 pm | Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Saturday November 15 @ 8 pm | First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Sunday November 17 @ 4 pm | First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus

December 5–8, 2019

HANDEL Judas Maccabaeus

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

Robin Johannsen, soprano (Israelitish Woman)

Sara Couden, mezzo-soprano (Israelitish Man)

Nicholas Phan, tenor (Judas Maccabaeus)

Philharmonia Chorale, Bruce Lamott, director

Thursday December 5 @ 7 pm | Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Friday December 6 @ 7:30 pm | First United Methodist Church, Palo Alto

Saturday December 7 @ 7 pm | First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Sunday December 8 @ 4 pm | First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Handel’s Aci, Galatea e Polifemo

January 22–February 1, 2020

HANDEL Acis, Galatea e Polifemo

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

Lauren Snouffer, soprano (Aci)

Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor (Galatea)

Davóne Tines, bass-baritone (Polifemo)

Philharmonia Baroque Chamber Players

Christopher Alden, stage direction

Mark Grey, sound & video design

JAX Messenger, lighting design

Terese Wadden, costume design

Paul Tate dePoo III, set design

OPENING NIGHT GALA PERFORMANCE

Wednesday, January 22 @ 8 pm | Diane Wilsey Center for Opera, San Francisco

Friday January 24 @ 8 pm | ODC Theater, San Francisco

Saturday January 25 @ 8 pm | ODC Theater, San Francisco

Sunday January 26 @ 3 pm | ODC Theater, San Francisco

Wednesday January 29 @ 8 pm | ODC Theater, San Francisco

Friday January 31 @ 8 pm | ODC Theater, San Francisco

Saturday February 1 @ 8 pm | ODC Theater, San Francisco

These performances are not part of the regular subscription season and must be purchased separately.

The Well-Caffeinated Clavier

February 7–12, 2020

BACH Harpsichord Concerto No. 7 in G minor, BWV 1058

BACH Cantata No. 211, Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211, “Coffee Cantata”

BACH Harpsichord Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052

BACH Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068

Richard Egarr, conductor & harpsichord

Nola Richardson, soprano

James Reese, tenor

Cody Quattlebaum, bass-baritone

Romantic Reflections

March 11–15, 2020

CHERUBINI Overture to Démophoon

MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64

SCHUBERT Symphony No. 9 in C major, D. 944, “The Great”

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

Alana Youssefian, violin

Wednesday March 11 @ 7:30 pm | Bing Concert Hall, Palo Alto

Friday March 13 @ 8 pm | Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Saturday March 14 @ 8 pm | First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Sunday March 15 @ 4 pm | First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Leclair’s Scylla et Glaucus

April 15–19, 2020

LECLAIR Scylla et Glaucus

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

Chantal Santon, soprano (Scylla)

Aaron Sheehan, haute-contre (Glaucus)

Véronique Gens, soprano (Circé)

Judith van Wanroij, soprano (Vénus, Témire, Dorine)

Douglas Williams, baritone (Licas)

New York Baroque Dance Company

Les Chantres de la Maîtrise du Centre de musique baroque de Versailles

Catherine Turocy, stage direction & choreography

Marie Anne Chiment, costume design

Pierre Dupouey, lighting & set design

A co-production of Centre de musique baroque de Versailles and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale

Wednesday April 15 @ 7 pm | Herst Theatre, San Francisco

Friday April 17 @ 7 pm | Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Saturday April 18 @ 7 pm | Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Sunday April 19 @ 3 pm | Herbst Theatre, San Francisco

Le Temple de la Gloire, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, PBO Chorus, New York Baroque Dance Company and Many Individuals

I saw the first performance of PBO & Friends' short run of Rameau's Le Temple de la Gloire, with libretto by Voltaire, on Friday night, April 28. Cal Performances presented it at Zellerbach Hall, one of their venues on the UCB Campus. 

Oh, man - it was a huge amount of fun. I've seen a fair amount of Baroque opera, most of it Handel with several Monteverdi productions thrown in for good measure. This was my first experience of French Baroque opera; not only that, French Baroque opera presented with an intention of getting somewhere near French Baroque production style. The Handel and Monteverdi operas were all presented in varying degrees of modern style, the better to avoid a completely static production. This was...different, in good ways.

The PBO forces had Baroque-style sets, Baroque-style ballet, and Baroque-style movement. That is, the singers used a vocabulary of fairly stylized physical gestures; the dancers didn't get very far off the ground. The dance vocabulary was more limited than today's ballet and didn't call for the same extreme physical technique. The sets were a hoot; an assortment of painted flats flown in and moved in and out from the sides.

Aaron Sheehan as Apollo in PBO’s Le Temple de la Gloire, by Rameau. Photo by Frank Wing.

The music was terrific and mostly very beautifully performed; yay, Nicholas McGegan, who brings life and joy to all he conducts. I loved the dancing and the dancers from the NY Baroque Dance Company, and there was a lot more dancing than you'd find in more recent, say, 19th c., operas.

The singing was mostly excellent, with some variation of voice size and flexibility. I especially liked soprano Chantal Santon-Jeffery, who has a big, glamorous voice, Philippe-Nicolas Martin, who has a gorgeous baritone voice and would make a fine Chorebe, and Camille Ortiz-Lafont, whose dark and beautiful mezzo lent considerable character to Act 2.

Artavazd Sargsyan as Bacchus and Camille Ortiz-Lafont as Erigone in PBO’s Le Temple de la Gloire, by Rameau. Photo by Frank Wing.

As for the plot...well, there isn't exactly a plot. It's about how to be a good ruler and be admitted to the Temple of Glory. During the opera, three different rulers try to gain entrance, and two fail. This was aimed directly at Louis XV, the French king of the time. It didn't matter much, and of course there was the fabulous dancing ostrich. (You can see photos of her on Twitter; thank you, PBO! And thank you, Cal Performances, for access to the press photos.)

PBO’s Nic McGegan with NYBDC’s Catherine Turocy (center in black) with the cast of Le Temple de la Gloire,  by Rameau. Photo by Frank Wing. 

The curtain call photo above gives the best idea of the style and scope of the sets. I believe that if you click it, you'll be able to see a larger version.

I'm very glad to have seen this, and let me note that somehow I hear a through-line in the vocal declamation from Rameau to Gluck to Berlioz. I hope to see more Rameau, and this particular public Twitter exchange suggests that we just might:

Let's just say that I hope the Board of Directors of San Francisco Opera was in attendance at Le Temple de la Gloire and that they agree with their General Director that SFO needs to stage some Rameau.

Other Commentary (Yes, I know the last several are coming):

• Joshua Kosman, Chron (His review has photos.)
• Opera Tattler
• Georgia Rowe, Mercury-News
• Ilana Walder-Beseitz, Bachtrack
• Janos Gereben, CVNA
• Steven Winn, SFCV
• Allan Ulrich, FT

A preview by Georgia Rowe, Mercury-News; another by Charlise Tiee at KQED; another, by Lou Fancher, at SFCV.