Matthew Dirst is a distinguished conductor and accomplished organist and harpsichordist based in Houston, renowned for his expressive and brilliant performances. With a rich background in early music, Dirst has captivated audiences through a variety of notable productions. His recent solo recital, Follies & Fantasies, showcased a diverse program featuring works by J.S. Bach and his son C.P.E. Bach, earning accolades from Early Music America. Dirst's conducting prowess was prominently displayed in past productions such as Astianatte, a gripping tale of post-Iliad trauma, and Olimpia Vendicata, a captivating narrative of love and betrayal set in a 17th-century Italian context. He is set to take the helm as conductor for the upcoming production of La Flora, a dramatic work by Antonio Sartorio that explores themes of love and conflict in the late Roman Republic. Dirst's ability to navigate complex emotional landscapes in his performances continues to resonate with audiences, making him a significant figure in the realm of classical music. As he prepares for La Flora, his innovative interpretations and dedication to early music promise to further enrich the cultural tapestry of the performing arts.

Conductor

Harpsichordist

Artistic Director

Organist

A work of emotional chiaroscuro that ranges from heroic tragedy to slamming-door farce, set in the late Roman Republic under the rule of the fearsome dictator Sulla (here called Silla). Young Flora and Pompeo are impassioned lovers. But Silla and Pompeo’s dad have other plans: Pompeo is to marry Silla’s daughter, Emilia. The only problem is that Emilia is already married to somebody else. And Pompeo (the future Pompey the Great), though a hero on the battlefield, turns out to be a spineless wuss when it comes to standing up to Dad and defending his girlfriend. Flora exerts her seductive superpowers to get her man. But will she succeed?

EPSG:4326

La Flora

ODC Theater

Ars Lyrica Houston proudly presents a new production of Handel's "Amadigi di Gaula," marking the most ambitious undertaking of their 2023/24 season. This Houston premiere, directed by Tara Faircloth and conducted by Matthew Dirst, features a cast of four rising stars in the operatic world, perfectly suited to bring to life the exceptionally beautiful score of one of Handel's magic operas produced during his prolific career in London.

The performances are scheduled for Friday, May 24, 2024, and Saturday, May 25, 2024, at 7:30 pm, with a live concert broadcast from Zilkha Hall at The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. The cast, in order of appearance, includes Randall Scotting as Amadigi, Nicholas Garza as Dardano, Raven McMillon as Melissa, and Nola Richardson as Oriana, with additional roles and covers by Michael Skarke, Sarah Dyer, Christine Boddicker, and Joeavian Rivera.

This production promises an evening of awe with a runtime of approximately two and a half hours, including an intermission. The production team, led by Tara Faircloth (stage director) and Matthew Dirst (music director), alongside Christina Giannelli (lighting designer), Ryan McGettigan (set designer), Julius Sanchez (stage manager), Macy Lyne (costume designer), and Jenna Wallis (surtitles), ensures a visually stunning and musically enriching experience.

Tickets are available for both in-person attendance and digital access, with the latter offering a concert broadcast link emailed to digital patrons on the morning of the performance, allowing for season-long replay access.

Join Ars Lyrica Houston in celebrating their momentous 20th anniversary season with this production of "Amadigi di Gaula," a testament to their commitment to presenting world-class Baroque opera in Houston.

Amadigi di Gaula

Hobby Center for the Performing Arts

The most ambitious undertaking of Ars Lyrica’s 2023/24 season is a new production of Handel’s Amadigi di Gaula, one of a handful of “magic” operas he produced during his long career in London. The cast includes four rising stars of the operatic firmament, all ideally suited to this exceptionally beautiful score. Tara Faircloth directs and Matthew Dirst conducts this Houston premiere.

Visions and Reveries showcases a select ensemble of period-instrument specialists and one of Ars Lyrica’s favorite singers in an all-French program. Its delectable prix-fixe menu includes lyric cantatas on mythological themes by Elizabeth Claude Jacquet de la Guerre and Jean-Philippe Rameau, whose contributions to the genre elevate it to high art, and a sumptuous instrumental suite by François Couperin.

Visions and Reveries

**Event: Visions and Reveries**

**Date and Time:** Saturday, March 16, 2024, at 7:30 pm

**Location:** Zilkha Hall, The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, Houston, Texas. [View on Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps)

**Description:**

Join Ars Lyrica Houston for an enchanting evening of baroque music titled "Visions and Reveries." This concert promises to transport audiences to the heart of the French baroque era, featuring a select ensemble of period-instrument specialists alongside one of our favorite sopranos. The program is a delectable prix-fixe menu of lyric cantatas on mythological themes by Elizabeth Claude Jacquet de la Guerre and Jean-Philippe Rameau, complemented by a sumptuous instrumental suite by François Couperin. These pieces, celebrated for elevating the genre to high art, promise an evening of awe and wonder.

**Artistic Personnel:**
- Lauren Snouffer, soprano
- Colin St Martin, traverso
- Manami Mizumoto, violin
- Maria Lin, violin
- Eric Taeyang Mun, cello
- Deborah Dunham, violone
- Richard Savino, theorbo & guitar
- Matthew Dirst, harpsichord & artistic director

**Program Highlights:**
- François Couperin: Sonade from L’Impériale
- Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre: Le Sommeil d'Ulysse
- Jean-Philippe Rameau: Cinquième Concert, Le Berger fidele

**Duration:** 1.5 hours, including intermission

**About the Program:**
"Visions and Reveries" delves into the evocative chamber works of François Couperin, Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, and Jean-Philippe Rameau, exploring the themes of myth and allusion. The program showcases the blend of Italian and French chamber idioms, with pieces that feature a mix of fugal styles and dance movements, reflecting the rich musical traditions of the ancien régime.

**Tickets and Additional Information:**
While the live concert has passed, digital subscriptions and digital replay passes are available for those who wish to experience the magic of this performance. The online concert broadcast offers an opportunity to enjoy this exquisite program from the comfort of your home, with access all season long.

For more information on digital subscriptions, replay passes, and to learn more about Ars Lyrica Houston's 20th anniversary season, please visit our [official website](#).

**Don't miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in the beauty and sophistication of French baroque music with Ars Lyrica Houston's "Visions and Reveries."**

**Fugal Games: A Celebration of Baroque Mastery**

Join Ars Lyrica Houston for an enchanting afternoon of Baroque music with the much-anticipated concert, "Fugal Games," on Saturday, January 13, 2024, at 4 pm. This remarkable event will take place in the Duncan Recital Hall at The Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, located at 6100 Main St, Houston, TX 77005.

"Fugal Games" delves into the enigmatic and quintessentially Baroque art of fugue, celebrating the release of Artistic Director Matthew Dirst’s new book on Bach’s "Art of Fugue" and "Musical Offering." These compositions represent the pinnacle of learned counterpoint, and the concert will feature significant excerpts from both, alongside miniature marvels by George Philipp Telemann, providing a rich context for Bach's masterworks.

**Artistic Personnel:**
- Colin St-Martin on traverso & recorder
- Elizabeth Blumenstock on violin & viola
- Stephen Redfield on violin
- Sydney ZumMallen on cello
- Matthew Dirst on harpsichord & as the artistic director

The concert promises an immersive experience into the world of Baroque music, with a special focus on the fugal form, a technique that has fascinated composers and audiences alike for centuries. Following the performance, attendees will have the unique opportunity to engage in a short book talk and Q&A session with all the artists, offering deeper insights into the music and its historical significance.

**Program Highlights:**
- J.S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in D major BWV 874 and selections from the Musical Offering BWV 1079
- G.P. Telemann's Sonata VI from the Canons mélodieux TWV 40 and Fantasie in F Minor TWV 40:16
- An exploration of Bach's Art of Fugue BWV 1080

The concert will not be livestreamed, ensuring an exclusive experience for those in attendance. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority seating for 6-concert subscribers. Student tickets are available at a discounted rate with the use of a promo code and valid student ID.

Prepare for an afternoon of "Fugal Games" that promises to be a profound exploration of Baroque music's depth and beauty, led by the talented ensemble of Ars Lyrica Houston. This event is a must-attend for lovers of classical music and those intrigued by the intricate art of the fugue.

Fugal Games

The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University

Handel’s Silete venti, the major work on this program, is a spectacular solo motet for soprano and Baroque orchestra, one that rivals his best operatic scenes. It places a deeply religious soul within a naturalistic context, where rustling leaves and blooming flowers prompt a lush meditation on love and happiness. Ecstatic Visions spotlights members of the ensemble as well, in rapturous instrumental music by Ciprano da Rore, Johann Schmeltzer, and Jean-Philippe Rameau.

Ecstatic Visions

Olimpia Vendicata is Ariadne auf Naxos in a distinctly more 17th-century Italian key.
Poor Olimpia, a Princess of Holland, is abandoned on a desert island by her faithless lover, Bireno. Kidnapped by pirates, she is made a slave at the elegant, sensuous court of Hibernia, where it seems everybody is amorous of somebody else.
(Remember, this is fiction.) Imagine her surprise when Bireno crops up and begins
wooing the Hibernian princess Alinda! With finesse and malice, Olimpia exacts
poetic justice.

Olimpia Vendicata

Fallen Angels highlights the paranormal in Baroque music, from Giacomo Carissimi’s harrowing Judgement of Solomon to spirited masques from Henry Purcell’s Fairy Queen. With four extraordinary singers and a colorful Baroque orchestra of period strings and winds, this otherworldly program inaugurates an entire season devoted to musical magic of various kinds.

Fallen Angels

Ars Lyrica's Fallen Angels

From the rich legacy of psalm settings, our season finale juxtaposes music from the Jewish and Christian traditions. In convertendo (Psalm 126) from the operatic master Jean-Philippe Rameau infuses the psalmist’s words with flair and passion, while companion pieces by Salamone Rossi and J. S. Bach infuse psalm texts with sonorous counterpoint.

Songs of Zion

A delightful musical romp, Handel’s Clori, Tirsi e Fileno includes spectacular arias that the composer later borrowed for his Italian operas. A cast of young operatic stars, all singing en travesti as the opposite gender, brings a new twist to this timeless story of a wily shepherdess and her two suitors.

Clori, Tirsi, e Fileno

This virtuosic tribute to Antonio Vivaldi, the famous “Red Priest” of Venice, features breathtaking concerti from this pioneer of the genre, colorful arias from a 1735 operatic pastiche, and his beloved setting of the Stabat Mater for solo voice and strings.

Red Priest of Venice

A dark tale of post-Iliad trauma, vengeance, sexual havoc and threatened infanticide, composed by one of the early 18th century’s most brilliant and under-recognized operatic masters. Similar material inspired such milestones as Euripides’ Andromache, Racine’s Andromaque, and Rossini’s Ermione.
This is by far the most disturbing work Ars Minerva has revived, set in a topsy-turvy world of grim beauty where mother love counts for little, erotic attraction excuses any cruelty, and conventional gender roles are reversed: Heroic males are at the mercy of their emotions, while women are the cold voice of duty and honor. Even death itself may not be what it seems.
Troy has fallen. Andromache, widow of the Trojan hero Hector, is the prisoner of Achilles’ son Pyrrhus, king of Epirus. Pyrrhus has fallen desperately in love with his captive and now shuns his fiancée, Hermione. Andromache is revolted at the idea of marrying the son of her husband’s killer; meanwhile, Hermione is by no means willing to be spurned without a fight. Orestes arrives, bearing an ultimatum for Pyrrhus: Kill Andromache’s and Hector’s young son Astyanax (Astianatte), or face war with Greece. Not incidentally, Orestes would also be delighted to rekindle his
relationship with the jilted Hermione.
Can a happy resolution ever be found for this tragic tangle of jealousies and emotional blackmail, in which a child’s life seems to have value only as a tool for coercion?

Astianatte

The accomplished Houston-based organist and harpsichordist Matthew Dirst—who also makes a brief double concerto appearance on June 19—gives a solo recital on both instruments following his concert film “A Bach Keyboard Extravaganza” for the Festival which premiered in summer 2021. Matthew’s playing has been praised as “expressive and brilliant” by Early Music America.

Dirst presents a rich and varied program of J.S. and his son C.P.E. Bach, Louis and François Couperin, and their contemporaries, centered around C.P.E. Bach’s variations on La Folía (meaning folly or madness)—a chord progression of early Spanish/Portuguese origin used as a theme by many composers from the Renaissance to the 21st Century.

Follies & Fantasies

Concordia University

Welcome back Festival supporters! Welcome back Festival Orchestra! We open the 42nd season with a resounding return to Baroque orchestral music by luminaries J.S. Bach, Vivaldi and Telemann.

Many Happy Returns

St. Mark Presbyterian Church

The first American musician to win major international prizes in both organ and harpsichord, Dirst is widely admired for his stylish playing and conducting. This hour-long program, featuring music from an era when leading composers largely ignored the organ—”the king of instruments”—includes masterworks like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Adagio and Allegro in F Minor” (KV 594) and a delightful trio sonata by Johann Ludwig Krebs.

Additional works include concertos by John Stanley, who succeeded Handel as organ soloist for the Covent Garden oratorios, and Christian Friederich Rüppe, whose sole surviving keyboard concerto, according to its original source, is suitable for performance on either fortepiano or organ.

Music from the Organ’s Nadir—Between Bach and Mendelssohn

Saint Mark's Episcopal Church

Old Meets New expands our own favored repertoire to include contemporary as well as Baroque music for period instruments. Featuring core string players with ALH Artistic Director Matthew Dirst at the harpsichord, this program features keyboard concerti by W. F. Bach and Karol Beffa and chamber works by Jean-Marie Leclair, Gregory Spears, and Emma Kent Wine.

Matthew Dirst

Conductor, Harpsichordist, Artistic Director, Organist

Events

Upcoming events

Jan 19, 2025

Old Meets New · Ars Lyrica Houston

Past events

15 - 17 Nov, 2024

La Flora · Ars Minerva

24 - 25 May, 2024

Amadigi di Gaula · Ars Lyrica Houston

Future and recently performed repertoire

Conductor in Amadigi di Gaula by Handel

Ars Lyrica Houston

Organ in Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major by Bach

Baroque Music Festival, Corona del Mar

Conductor in Astianatte by Vinci

Ars Minerva

Conductor in Olimpia Vendicata by Freschi

Ars Minerva

Conductor in La Flora by Sartorio

Ars Minerva

About

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