Handel’s Messiah ushers in the holiday season for in-person audiences at GBH’s Calderwood Studio in Boston and for streaming audiences around the world
BOSTON, MA—Boston Baroque rings in the holiday season with two December programs that have become beloved holidays traditions for so many: Handel’s Messiah and a New Year’s Celebration program. This year, audiences near and far will have the opportunity to join Boston Baroque for the holidays, as we welcome live studio audiences on site and virtual audiences around the world via livestream on IDAGIO.
This year’s Messiah performances will take place on Friday, December 10th at 7:30pm, Saturday, December 11th at 7:30pm, and Sunday, December 12th at 3pm at GBH’s Calderwood Studio. The Saturday 7:30pm performance will be livestreamed on IDAGIO, directed by Matthew Principe, Director of Innovation at the Michigan Opera Theatre, and former associate producer of the Metropolitan Opera’s award-winning Live in HD Series.
Music Director Martin Pearlman’s GRAMMY®-nominated interpretation of Handel’s Messiah will be performed in its entirety with all three parts with an intermission. This year’s performances will feature an all-star cast of soloists, including soprano Maya Kherani in her Boston Baroque debut, and the return of countertenor Christopher Lowrey, tenor Aaron Sheehan, and bass-baritone Kevin Deas to the Boston Baroque stage.
The New Year’s Celebration performances will take place on Friday, December 31st at 3pm and 8pm, and Saturday, January 1st at 1pm and 4pm at GBH’s Calderwood Studio. The 8pm performance on December 31st will be livestreamed on IDAGIO, with director Matthew Principe at the helm.
Music Director Martin Pearlman will lead Boston Baroque’s renowned orchestra in an hourlong program with no intermission, beginning with Mozart’s much-loved Symphony No. 40. Concertmaster Christina Day Martinson will shine as soloist on the virtuosic Violin Concerto in D by Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Finally, baritone David McFerrin returns to the Boston Baroque stage in Cimarosa’s endearing and humorous Il Maestro di Cappella.
For both productions, high-quality lighting design by GBH’s Lighting Director and Scenics Manager Phil Reilly—who has worked on films like Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad,” Clint Eastwood’s “Mystic River,” and Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed”—will envelop the studio in a visually sumptuous environment. Safety will remain a top priority for both musicians and audience members, with in-person audiences required to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 along with accompanying photo identification to enter the hall. Masks will be required at all times while indoors at GBH.
This season is a new chapter and step into the future after a year of cataclysmic change for the field of early and classical music. Boston Baroque is committed to creatively bringing our mission to life in this new world with live and streaming audiences across the world engaging with high-quality music in an intimate and interactive way.
Both in-person and livestream tickets are available for purchase online at baroque.boston or by calling the Box Office at (617) 987-8600. Livestream tickets begin at $9, and in-person tickets range from $25-$125.
A special Virtual Holiday Package is also available for sale for $40, and includes tickets to the livestream concerts for both Handel’s Messiah and New Year’s Celebration, a ticket to the virtual program “A Conversation with the Stars: Handel’s Messiah” taking place on Nov 30th at 7pm, and exclusive access to Boston Baroque’s Subscriber Portal through January 3, 2022. Boston Baroque’s Subscriber Portal features over 16 full-length concerts and operas, over 20 documentary short films and concert talks, and more exclusive on demand content.
