Media Contact: Emily Kirk Weddle, Baroque [email protected] 617-987-8600 For Immediate Release:

Opera meets symphony in ’s season opener with soprano

Featuring Mozart’s “Linz” Symphony, Haydn’s Symphony No. 102, and a stellar selection of arias by both composers

BOSTON, MA—GRAMMY®-nominated Boston Baroque begins the 2019-20 season with a program of symphonies and arias by Mozart and Haydn conducted by Music Director Martin Pearlman, and featuring soprano Amanda Forsythe. Two performances of this program will take place at NEC’s Jordan Hall—the first, on Friday, October 25 at 8pm, and the second on Sunday, October 27 at 3pm. Popular pre-concert speaker Dr. Laura Stanfield Prichard, Visiting Researcher in Music and Dance History at , will give a talk before both performances at 7pm and 2pm.

The program begins with Mozart’s “Linz” Symphony No. 36 in C major—a work that marked a new phase in the composer’s life. The symphony’s nickname is inspired by the city it was composed in. Mozart and his wife, Constanze, had stopped in Linz, Austria, after a very unpleasant visit to his father, Leopold, in . Leopold adamantly opposed his son’s hasty marriage the previous year, and the young couple had attempted to sooth his father’s hostility with a visit.

After three unbearable months, the couple traveled to visit their friend Count Johann Joseph Anton Thun-Hohenstein, a dedicated lover of music who kept a private at his disposal. Mozart agreed to put on a concert for his friend during his visit, but with no music on hand, he simply composed a new symphony in just four days. The première took place on November 4, 1783. Defined by its warmth, energy, and festivity—the music is a reflection, perhaps, of Count Thun’s much-needed and appreciated hospitality. The work received its U.S. premiere in Boston on March 28, 1860 at a concert by the Boston Orchestral Union.

A set of dazzlingly virtuosic Mozart and Haydn arias for soprano follows, featuring Boston’s beloved soprano, Amanda Forsythe, who is recognized internationally as a leading interpreter of Baroque and Classical repertoire.

The first aria, the magnificent “Barbaro, oh Dio, mi vedi,” appears in the second act of , a seranata (short, semi-staged opera) written in 1775 when Mozart was only 19 years old. “Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben” is from , Mozart’s unfinished singspiel (singing play) written in 1779-80 but not published until 1838.

Mozart’s aria “Bella mia fiamma, addio” was written for his close friend, Josepha Duschek, a highly-regarded soprano of her time. Josepha is rumored to have won the aria’s dedication by locking Mozart in a garden house on her estate near Prague, and refusing to release him until he had composed something for her. He artfully created a harmonically complex aria designed to test the singer's sense of intonation and powers of interpretation. Mozart’s son, Karl Thomas, recounts that his father refused to hand over the score unless Josepha sang the work perfectly upon first sight. Needless to say, she earned the dedication.

The final aria is from Haydn’s first , Il ritorno di Tobia. Rarely performed today, the Italian tells the story of a blind man, Tobit, who is miraculously cured when his long- absent son, Tobias, returns home. “Anna, m’ascolta” is the most famous aria from the oratorio, and is sung by the archangel Raphael, who helps the family return Tobit’s eyesight.

The program concludes with Haydn’s Symphony No. 102 in B flat, one of his beloved “London” symphonies. Composed during his second visit to England and premiered in 1795, Symphony No. 102 is regarded as one of his finest. It is also known as the symphony which, at its premiere, had a chandelier come crashing down from the ceiling into the hall. Luckily, no serious injuries had occurred, as the audience had crowded close to the orchestra to be in close range to Haydn, who was directing from the keyboard.

After a dignified introduction, Symphony No. 102 showcases Haydn’s mastery of musical mischief and wit throughout the first movement. The second movement, in contrast, evokes warmth and fluidity with its emotionally charged sound, while the final two movements return to Haydn’s trademark high-spirited humor.

Single tickets begin at $25, and season subscriptions start at $81. Both may be purchased online at bostonbaroque.org or by calling the Boston Baroque offices at 617-987-8600.

ABOUT AMANDA FORSYTHE

Amanda Forsythe, highly praised for her performances on both sides of the Atlantic, sang Eurydice on the 2015 GRAMMY-winning recording of Charpentier’s La descente d'Orphée aux enfers. Her début solo album of Handel arias, "The Power of Love" with Apollo’s Fire on the Avie label, earned widespread critical acclaim. She has toured with the outstanding French Philippe Jaroussky performing works based on the Orfeo myth and

subsequently recorded the role of Euridice with him in the 1774 version of Gluck’s Orfeo on the ERATO label.

Forsythe’s collaborations with leading baroque ensembles have included Teseo (title role) with Philharmonia Baroque at the Festival, Alexander’s Feast with Tafelmusik, Iole with the , Partenope (title role) and Poppea Agrippina with Boston Baroque, Isabelle Le Carnaval de Venise, Serpina La serva padrona, Edilia and the title roles in L’incoronazione di Poppea, , and Niobe for the Boston Early Music Festival. Many of these performances have been recorded commercially. She is also a regular soloist with Vancouver Early Music, Apollo’s Fire, and Pacific Musicworks.

Her major opera house engagements have included Pamina Die Zauberflöte at Rome Opera, Pamina and Iris for Seattle Opera, Nannetta Falstaff, Amour Orphée, Manto in Steffani’s Niobe and Barbarina Le nozze di Figaro at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Jemmy Guillaume Tell, Corinna and Rosalia L’equivoco stravagante for the , Pesaro, and Dalinda at the Grand Theatre in Geneva and the .

Forsythe has performed with major symphony in the and Europe including Handel’s , Sileti venti and Laudate pueri and Schubert’s Mass No 6 in E Flat with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Boston Symphony and , Bach’s Magnificat and concert performances as Marzelline in Beethoven’s Fidelio with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

Following performances as Amour in Gluck’s Orphée at London’s Royal Opera House, she sang both this work and Mozart’s C Minor Mass and on tour with the Monteverdi and Orchestra under Sir John Eliot Gardiner. She also performed Mozart’s Concert Arias with Kymi Sinfonietta in Finland.

ABOUT BOSTON BAROQUE

Boston Baroque is the first permanent Baroque orchestra established in North America and, according to Fanfare Magazine, is widely regarded as “one of the world’s premier period- instrument bands.” The ensemble produces lively, emotionally charged, groundbreaking performances of Baroque and Classical works for today’s audiences performed on instruments and using performance techniques that reflect the eras in which the music was composed.

Founded in 1973 as “Banchetto Musicale” by Music Director Martin Pearlman, Boston Baroque’s orchestra is composed of some of the finest period-instrument players in the United States, and is frequently joined by the ensemble’s professional chorus and by world- class instrumental and vocal soloists from around the globe. The ensemble has performed at major music centers across the United States and performed recently in Poland for the 2015 Beethoven Festival, with sold-out performances of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 in Warsaw

and Handel’s Messiah in Katowice.

Boston Baroque reaches an international audience with its twenty-five acclaimed recordings. In 2012, the ensemble became the first American orchestra to record with the highly-regarded UK audiophile label Linn Records, and its release of received great critical acclaim. In April 2014, the orchestra recorded Monteverdi’s rarely performed opera, Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, which was released on Linn Records and received two nominations at the 2016 GRAMMY® Awards.

Boston Baroque's recordings have received six GRAMMY® Award Nominations: its 1992 release of Handel's Messiah, 1998 release of Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610, 2000 release of Bach's Mass in B Minor, 2015 release of Monteverdi's Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, and 2018 release of Biber's The Mystery Sonatas.

High-res photos available for download online: http://www.bostonbaroque.org/press-room/photo-gallery

ABOUT MARTIN PEARLMAN, FOUNDING MUSIC DIRECTOR AND CONDUCTOR

Boston Baroque founder, music director, and conductor Martin Pearlman is one of this country’s leading interpreters of Baroque and on period and modern instruments. In addition to Boston Baroque’s annual concert season, Pearlman tours in the United States and Europe and has produced twenty-five major recordings for Telarc and Linn Records. Mr. Pearlman’s completion and orchestration of music from Mozart’s Lo Sposo Deluso, his performing version of Purcell’s Comical History of Don Quixote, and his new orchestration of Cimarosa’s Il Maestro di Cappella were all premiered by Boston Baroque.

Highlights of his work include the complete Monteverdi opera cycle, with his own new performing editions of L’incoronazione di Poppea and Il ritorno d’Ulisse, the American premiere of Rameau’s , the Boston premiere of Rameau’s Pigmalion, the New England premieres of Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride and Alceste, and an exploration of the Beethoven symphonies on period instruments. Mr. Pearlman is also known for his internationally acclaimed series of Handel including Agrippina, , and Semele.

Mr. Pearlman grew up in Oak Park, Illinois, where he received training in composition, violin, piano and theory. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University, where he studied composition with Karel Husa and Robert Palmer. In 1967–68, he studied harpsichord in Amsterdam with Gustav Leonhardt on a Fulbright Grant and in 1971, he received his Masters of Music in composition from Yale University, studying composition with Yehudi Wyner and harpsichord with Ralph Kirkpatrick. In 1971, he moved to Boston and began performing widely in solo recitals and concertos. From 2002-2016, he was a Professor of Music at ’s School of Music in the Historical Performance department.

BOSTON BAROQUE 2019-2020 CONCERT SEASON AT-A-GLANCE

October 25, 2019 at 8pm October 27, 2019 at 3pm NEC’s Jordan Hall Mozart and Haydn

Featuring Amanda Forsythe, soprano

Mozart: “Linz” Symphony No. 36 in C Mozart: "Barbaro, oh Dio, mi vedi" from Il re pastore Mozart: "Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben" from Zaide Mozart: "Bella mia fiamma, addio" Haydn: "Anna, m'ascolta” from Il ritorno di Tobia Haydn, Symphony No. 102 in B flat

December 6, 2019 at 7:30pm December 7, 2019 at 7:30pm NEC’s Jordan Hall

Amanda Forsythe, soprano Ann McMahon Quintero, mezzo-soprano Thomas Cooley, Andrew Garland, baritone

Handel: Messiah

December 31, 2019 at 8pm January 1, 2020 at 3pm Sanders Theatre at Harvard University New Year’s Eve and First Day Gala Concerts with Maggie Finnegan, soprano

Corelli: Concerto Grosso, Opus 6, No. 6 in F Bach, Concerto in D Major for three violins (after BWV 1064) Vivaldi: Motet, “Nulla in mundo pax sincera” Rameau: Orchestral Suite Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D

March 27, 2020 at 8:00pm March 29, 2020 at 3:00pm NEC’s Jordan Hall

Featuring Christina Day Martinson, violin

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons Vivaldi: Gloria for Chorus and Orchestra Monteverdi: Beatus Vir

April 24, 2020 at 7:30pm April 25, 2020 at 7:30pm NEC’s Jordan Hall

Paula Murrihy, Ariodante Kiera Duffy, Ginevra Sonja Tengblad, Dalinda Ann McMahon Quintero, Polinesso Rufus Müller, Lurcanio , Re di Scozia Jonas Budris, Odoardo

Opera Handel: Ariodante