Actor

Handel’s Messiah draws us in time and time again. The storytelling and uplifting messages are captivating, and the intimate arias juxtaposed with exuberant choruses are irresistible. But maybe it is the grandeur of the oratorio that impresses most. Discover which of these strikes a chord as Nicholas McGegan, one of the world’s foremost experts on Handel’s music, conducts the SLSO and St. Louis Symphony Chorus in this beloved holiday tradition.

Handel’s Messiah

Powell Hall

How terrible must life be if you can’t laugh? Sergei Prokofiev’s opera The Love for Three Oranges is about a king who wishes to help his sick son. But only one thing can cure the malady of the heir to the throne: laughter. While the doctors are trying their luck, Truffaldino and Fata Morgana get into a fight, during which the latter is knocked over.

The Love for Three Oranges

Semperoper Dresden

Freedom, courage and human rights are the fundamental motifs that form the foundation of Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera “Fidelio”. In the spirit of the French Revolution, the composer created a profoundly humanistic work that questions humanity when faced with tyrannical oppression and has lost none of its impact today.

Fidelio

CityPalais

Freedom, courage, and human rights are the existential themes that form the foundation of Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera, "Fidelio." It is the story of the arbitrarily imprisoned Florestan, whose loving wife, Leonore, disguises herself as a man against all danger to free him from prison in the role of "Fidelio." On the journey from imprisonment to a seemingly utopian freedom, the driving force of music transcends formal boundaries.

This program comprises choral and orchestral music by Martinů and perhaps his finest student, Moravia’s Jan Novák. Set to his own Latin text, Novák’s moving cantata Ignis pro Ioanne Palach commemorates a desperate young activist who immolated himself to protest the end of the Prague Spring. As a former professional violinist, Martinů wrote for the instrument with intimate understanding, and his Second Violin Concerto stands among his mature masterpieces. It was commissioned by the great Mischa Elman, who premiered the work with Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony, before performing it for many years, as did Isaac Stern and Josef Suk. Completing the program are an aria from Martinů’s one-act opera Ariane, a surrealist take on the Theseus myth that was inspired by Maria Callas, and The Epic of Gilgamesh, the composer’s only large-scale oratorio. Scored for narrator, soloists, choir, and orchestra, this takes its text from an English translation of the Mesopotamian saga, and is notable for some of Martinů’s most inspired choral writing.

EPSG:4326

Bard Music Festival — Program 9

Sosnoff Theater

A hypnotic blend of myth, melodrama, and psychological intrigue, Richard Strauss’s seldom heard The Egyptian Helen (Die ägyptische Helena) receives a lavish, rare U.S. staging at Bard SummerScape.

The Egyptian Helen at Bard SummerScape

Fisher Center at Bard

Rachmaninoff’s fascination with bells dates back to his childhood, when his grandmother would take him to town on church festival days. “The bell ringers were artists,” he recalled. Growing up in a country where bells carry profound cultural and spiritual meaning, it’s no surprise that they permeate Rachmaninoff’s music—and to great effect in his rarely performed choral symphony, The Bells. Plus, our own Susie Park performs Szymanowski's virtuosic and folk music inspired Violin Concerto No. 2

Actor

John Matthew Myers

Events

Upcoming events

Jul 24 - Aug 2, 2026

The Egyptian Helen at Bard SummerScape · American Symphony Orchestra

12 - 13 Mar, 2027

Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky · Minnesota Orchestra

Past events

12 - 14 Dec, 2025

Handel’s Messiah · St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

9 - 19 Oct, 2025

The Love for Three Oranges · Semperoper Dresden

Future and recently performed repertoire

Prince in The Love for Three Oranges by Prokofiev

Semperoper Dresden

Singer in Messiah by Handel

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

Singer in Hamlet by Tchaikovsky

Minnesota Orchestra

Florestan in Fidelio by Beethoven

Deutsche Oper am Rhein

Menelaus in The Egyptian Helen (Die ägyptische Helena) by Strauss

American Symphony Orchestra

About

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