Name: The English Concert
Start: 2023-03-05T15:00:00
Location: University of California, Berkeley

Christina Gansch

Elena Vllalón

Ann Hallenberg

Brandon Cedel

Niamh O’Sullivan

James Way

Steven Fox

The Clarion Choir

Cal Performances

In the stirring and eclectic presentation, This Land, celebrated pianist, NPR host, and California native Lara Downes welcomes an all-star cast of collaborators for a program of classical and popular music that explores the richness and complexity of the American experience.

Lara Downes and Friends

Britain’s eminent early-music ensemble returns to Berkeley to perform Handel’s glorious Solomon (1748), based on Biblical stories of the great king’s wisdom and justice and the ushering of a golden age of peace, piety, and prosperity. Among the composer’s many brilliant English oratorios, Solomon stands out as an especially jubilant and sumptuous work, featuring a double chorus, stunning arias such as “Will the sun forget to streak,” and gorgeous orchestrations like the sprightly oboe-and-strings feature, “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba.” The Swedish mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg, a beloved Baroque music diva, sings the title role. “Hallenberg’s exceptionally wide-ranging, ruby-color mezzo, with its serene legato and jaw-dropping coloratura, has inevitably made her a go-to artist” (The New York Times).

EPSG:4326

The English Concert

University of California, Berkeley