Boston Early Music Festival
JUNE 8 - 15, 2025
PAUL O’DETTE & STEPHEN STUBBS , Artistic Directors
KATHLEEN FAY, Executive Director
OPERA CONCERTS EXHIBITION
“Arguably
WELCOME
Dear Friends:
I am delighted to welcome you to the June 2025 Boston Early Music Festival, our 23rd biennial Festival, this year with the theme of Love & Power.
Our Festival Centerpiece will be the North American premiere of Reinhard Keiser’s Octavia, set to a German libretto by Barthold Feind a stunning success in 1705 Hamburg. This will be paired with a revival of our popular 2021 Chamber Opera Series production of Georg Philipp Telemann’s Pimpinone and Ino.
Romantic love has been the central theme of poetry and music since time immemorial. What the Baroque era added was the depiction of war and power struggles of every kind, which in turn greatly expanded the dramatic scope of the fledgling opera genre. By the start of the 18th century, Hamburg had become the site of the most intensive experimentations in opera. Keiser, Telemann, and their librettists were keenly aware of their positions as the avant-garde driving the dramatic representation of love and power to new heights.
Keiser and Feind’s Octavia, set in Nero’s unstable imperial court, puts sexual attraction and a brewing rebellion at center stage. Pimpinone, a comic opera about the power struggle between a rich but gullible man and his beautiful and clever housemaid, allowed Telemann to demonstrate his incomparable comic talent and to illustrate another kind of confrontation between love and power, while his late masterpiece, Ino, pits a mother’s love against a rampaging husband and a jealous goddess, culminating, in Ino’s hour of desperation, with a surprising apotheosis.
Our operas will employ a team of over 75 directors, designers, singers, dancers, instrumentalists, and technicians. Both productions will incorporate the talents of BEMF’s unsurpassed artistic leadership: Musical Directors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Stage Director Gilbert Blin, Orchestra Director Robert Mealy, and Dance Director Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière.
Our full roster of concerts and opera performances is contained in this brochure. Please visit BEMF.org for the complete schedule of Festival 2025 events, including 18 BEMF concerts, the Organ & Keyboard Mini-Festivals, the world-famous Exhibition, Performance Masterclasses, special programs, symposia, talks, and more. Subscription packages and individual tickets are on sale now, so please secure yours today to ensure the best seats.
We are honored to have been part of the tremendous growth of Early Music in North America since our first Festival in 1981, and we hope you will join us for this unique and expansive celebration of all our field has to offer. I look forward to seeing you in June for what promises to be a thrilling and memorable week.
Kathleen Fay Executive Director
REINHARD KEISER’S OCTAVIA THE ROMAN REBELLION
JUNE 8, 11, 13 & 15, 2025
Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, Boston, MA
The virtuous Empress Octavia is betrayed by her increasingly erratic husband, Nero, putting all of Rome on the brink of rebellion.
Written for the famed Hamburg Opera in 1705, Keiser’s monumental work brings lavish spectacle and brilliant orchestration to a nuanced tale of the corruption of power and the resilience of love. A fantastical parade of philosophers, clowns, ghosts, and despots comes alive on the stage as the noble Octavia struggles to survive the turmoil and cruelty around her.
PAUL O’DETTE & STEPHEN STUBBS, Musical Directors | GILBERT BLIN, Stage Director
ROBERT MEALY, Orchestra Director | MARIE-NATHALIE LACOURSIÈRE, Dance Director
HUBERT HAZEBROUCQ, Choreographer | ANNA KJELLSDOTTER, Costume Designer
ALEXANDER McCARGAR, Set Designer | KELLY MARTIN, Lighting Designer
ELLEN HARGIS, Assistant Stage Director | KATHLEEN FAY, Executive Producer
FULLY STAGED NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE — SUNG IN GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUPERTITLES
MEALY O’DETTE STUBBS BLIN
LACOURSIÈRE
“A constant delight of anticipation.”
— THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
GRAMMY-winning Musical Directors Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs and acclaimed Stage Director Gilbert Blin lead an all-new production replete with opulent stagecraft and impeccable musicianship. Breathtaking sets, sumptuous, period-inspired costumes, exquisite Baroque dance, and beautifully evocative music combine in an operatic feast sure to delight.
EMŐKE BARÁTH, Octavia | DOUGLAS RAY WILLIAMS, Nero
AMANDA FORSYTHE, Ormœna | SHEREZADE PANTHAKI, Clelia
AARON SHEEHAN, Piso | HANNAH DE PRIEST, Livia
CHRISTIAN IMMLER, Seneca | MICHAEL SKARKE, Tiridates
RICHARD PITTSINGER, Fabius | MARC MOLOMOT, Davus
JASON McSTOOTS, Lepidus
BEMF DANCE COMPANY
Caroline Copeland, Julian Donahue, Junichi Fukuda, Hubert Hazebroucq, Caitlin Klinger & Alexis Silver PANTHAKI
BEMF ORCHESTRA
Robert Mealy, concertmaster; Cynthia Roberts, Beth Wenstrom, Sarah Darling & Miloš Valent, violin I; Julie Andrijeski, Johanna Novom, Jesse Irons & Emily Dahl, violin II; Daniel Elyar, Laura Jeppesen & Dagmar Valentová, viola; Phoebe Carrai, Matt Zucker, Keiran Campbell & Jennifer Morsches, violoncello; Nathaniel Chase, double bass; Debra Nagy & Kathryn Montoya, oboe & recorder; Dominic Teresi, Allen Hamrick, Marilyn Boenau & Sally Merriman, bassoon; Todd Williams & Nathanael Udell, natural horn; Michelle Humphreys, percussion; Paul O’Dette, theorbo; Stephen Stubbs, theorbo & Baroque guitar; Jörg Jacobi, harpsichord; Maxine Eilander, Baroque harp; David Morris, viola da gamba
BEMF YOUNG ARTISTS TRAINING PROGRAM
Gilbert Blin, Founder & Director
Jason McStoots, Associate Director, 2025
Jeffrey Grossman, Musical Director, 2025
Anna Bjerken, Reed Demangone, Samuel Higgins, Seth Hobi, Raphaël Laden-Guindon & Andréa Walker, singers Irenie Melin-Gompper, dancer
2025 OPERA & CONCERT SCHEDULE
SUNDAY, JUNE 8
n 3:30PM | Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, Boston
OCTAVIA
THE ROMAN REBELLION
CENTERPIECE OPERA | See pages 4–5 for more details.
MONDAY, JUNE 9
n 5PM | New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, Boston
ACRONYM
Chloe Fedor, Edwin Huizinga, Johanna Novom, Adriane Post & Beth Wenstrom, violin; Cynthia Black, viola; Kivie Cahn-Lipman, viola da gamba & lirone; Loren Ludwig, viola da gamba & colascione; Paul Dwyer, violoncello; Doug Balliett, violone; Elliot Figg, harpsichord & organ, Dan Swenberg, theorbo
Amor Temporalia: Music of Bertali, Schmelzer, Valentini, and others
Returning for their fourth consecutive Festival, the alwaysengaging instrumentalists of ACRONYM open our week of Festival Concerts with music that testifies to a rare taste for extravagance and novelty. The Holy Roman Empire, until its dramatic defeat by Napoleon, represented one of the greatest consolidations of power and wealth in the history of Europe. For nearly a millennium, the Empire’s purse funded some of the most lavish (and strangest!) art, architecture, and music available across Europe, expressions both of its love of and its grip on temporal power. This selection of works commissioned by (or dedicated to) the Empire’s nobility offers a soundscape to the machinations of Empire and a 17thcentury expression of amor temporalia.
n 8PM | NEC’s
Jordan Hall,
Boston THE TALLIS SCHOLARS
PETER PHILLIPS, Director with THE ENGLISH CORNETT & SACKBUT ENSEMBLE
Jubilate! Music of Lassus, Palestrina, Gombert, Andrea Gabrieli, and Giovanni Gabrieli
Don’t miss a blockbuster collaboration between two of Early Music’s most celebrated ensembles. Director Peter Phillips has planned a program of music which celebrates the 500th anniversary of Palestrina’s birth, as well as honoring his friendly artistic relations with two of his greatest contemporaries, Orlandus Lassus and Nicolas Gombert. It’s not always clear whether sacred music was accompanied in 16th-century worship, but Lassus had spent time in one of the more likely places to hear voices with instruments: Venice. The distinguished instrumentalists of The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble join the singers of The Tallis Scholars for celebratory bookends by Lassus and his younger colleague Giovanni Gabrieli.
n 10:30PM | NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston
AARON SHEEHAN, tenor
& PAUL O’DETTE, lute & theorbo
The Excellency of Wine: Songs by Dowland, Guédron, Moulinié, and Henry Lawes
Celebrate love, laughter, and drinking in an intimate and invigorating recital of lute songs featuring GRAMMY winners
Aaron Sheehan and Paul O’Dette. Henry Lawes’s song The Excellency of Wine praises the libation that “quenches love’s fires” and “teaches fools how to rule a State.” Indulge in repertoire of positively breathtaking beauty for voice and lute from two world-renowned performers.
TUESDAY, JUNE 10
n 5PM | NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston ENSEMBLE CASTOR with SHEREZADE PANTHAKI, soprano
RODOLFO RICHTER, Director & violin
PETRA SAMHABER-ECKHARDT, violin
Irma Niskanen & Martin Kalista, violin; Hana Hobiger, viola; Philipp Comploi, violoncello; Nathaniel Chase, violone; Sonja Leipold, harpsichord
Stunning soprano Sherezade Panthaki joins forces with the dynamic violin virtuoso Rodolfo Richter and the outstanding Austrian chamber orchestra Ensemble Castor. They offer a program brimming with expressive theatricality featuring arias and instrumental music written for the stage from Handel’s Almira and Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno to Keiser’s Croesus and Theatralische Musik and Telemann’s Orpheus and Miriways. As a special treat, the ensemble will also present Handel’s early Sonata a 5 and Bach’s moving Concerto for Two Violins in D minor.
n 8PM | NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston
THE BOSTON CAMERATA
ANNE AZÉMA, Director
Anne Azéma, voice & hurdy gurdy; Shira Kammen, vielle & harp; Dan Meyers, winds; Michael Barrett, Joel Frederiksen, Ryan Lustgarten & John Taylor Ward, voice
A Gallery of Kings: Uses and Abuses of Power, ca. 1300
Inspiring Genius – Precious Friendships: Music of Keiser, Handel, Bach, and Telemann
Celebrating their 70th-anniversary season, The Boston Camerata remains one of the world’s most celebrated Early Music ensembles. Artistic Director Anne Azéma leads a production first performed to honor the 800th anniversary of the Reims Cathedral. Songs and stories of powerful Kings, both good and bad, abound in the Middle Ages. While the crowd sings “May he reign forever,” the monarch’s power is limited: by his fallible judgement, his formidable adversaries, his love of power, and his own precarious mortality. These ancient songs of kingship and its snares in Latin, German, Galician, Old English, and Old French resonate strongly down the centuries, into our own, turbulent time.
2025 OPERA & CONCERT SCHEDULE
n 10:30PM | NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston PACIFIC MUSICWORKS with
DANIELLE
REUTTER-HARRAH, soprano
STEPHEN STUBBS, Director
Tekla Cunningham, violin; David Morris, viola da gamba; Maxine Eilander, Baroque harp; Stephen Stubbs, lute & Baroque guitar
Murder, Mayhem, Melancholy, and Madness: Music of Dowland, William Lawes, Purcell, and others
GRAMMY winner Stephen Stubbs brings Pacific MusicWorks to Boston for their BEMF début in a musical journey into the atmosphere and aftermath of the English Civil War. The years leading up to the start of the war in 1642 were full of riotous discord, reflected in the popular “Broadside Ballads.” At the same moment, William Lawes, the greatest English musical genius between Dowland and Purcell, was producing vocal and instrumental music of unparalleled beauty. Lawes would lose his life in battle, but his musical legacy achieved the perfect balance of emotion, words, and music. Sensational soprano Danielle Reutter-Harrah joins the ensemble for a fascinating program that sheds insight into this turbulent period.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11
n 5PM | Emmanuel Church, Boston
THE TALLIS SCHOLARS
PETER PHILLIPS, Director
Inspired by the Sistine Chapel: Music of Palestrina, Allegri, Morales, and others
The legendary voices of The Tallis Scholars with Director Peter Phillips bring us a program inspired by the Sistine Chapel and the extraordinary Renaissance composers who wrote music to be sung in services there. The Choir of the Sistine Chapel
served as the personal choir of the Pope and was at the center of the Vatican’s musical life. The musicians appointed as its singers came from across Europe; they were also expected to write music, with thrilling results. Prepare to be transported by music of timeless and transcendent beauty, from Allegri’s beloved Miserere, written for the Chapel’s exclusive use during Holy Week, to mass movements by Palestrina and motets by Morales, Josquin, and Festa.
n 7PM | Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, Boston
OCTAVIA
THE ROMAN REBELLION
CENTERPIECE OPERA | See pages 4–5 for more details.
n 8PM | Emmanuel Church, Boston
TRIO MEDIÆVAL
with
CATALINA
VICENS, organetto
Anna Maria Friman, voice, melody chimes & Hardanger fiddle; Linn Andrea Fuglseth & Jorunn Lovise Husan, voice & melody chimes
Love abounds in everything: Music of Hildegard von Bingen and Leonel Power
The crystalline voices of Trio Mediæval have captivated audiences since the group was founded in Oslo in 1997, earning them two GRAMMY nominations and renown across the globe for performances that are both pristine and intensely immersive.
They make their long-awaited return to the BEMF concert stage alongside the stunning organetto virtuoso Catalina Vicens in a program of music by Hildegard von Bingen and Leonel Power. Traverse the ancient soundscapes of these two contrasting Medieval masters, from the soaring chants of the 12th-century abbess, Hildegard, to the influential early 15th-century English polyphony by Power.
n 10:30PM | Emmanuel Church, Boston THE ENGLISH CORNETT & SACKBUT ENSEMBLE
Doron David Sherwin & Conor Hastings, cornett; Emily White, Tom Lees & Adrian France, sackbut; Nicholas Perry, tenor cornett & dulcian; Silas Wollston, organ
Songs without words: Music of Palestrina, Victoria, Grandi, Giovanni Gabrieli, and Merulo
Now in their 32nd year, the exceptional musicians of The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble make their much-anticipated BEMF début at the 2025 Festival. In addition to regular recitals, these Gramophone Award–winning performers are in high demand for collaborations with such powerhouse vocal groups as I Fagiolini, The Tallis Scholars, Alamire, and many others. Enjoy a program of music perfectly suited to the unique sounds of cornetts and sackbuts with the sensuous love poetry of the Song of Songs in settings by Palestrina, Victoria, and Grandi alongside instrumental canzonas and sonatas by Giovanni Gabrieli and Merulo.
THURSDAY, JUNE 12
n 9AM–4PM | First Lutheran Church of Boston ORGAN MINI-FESTIVAL
(See page 14 for more details.)
n 5PM | NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston ENRICO GATTI, violin,
MARCELLO GATTI, flute & FRIENDS
Arnie Tanimoto, viola da gamba; Anna Fontana, harpsichord
Flatteusement, Vivement & Tendrement:
The power of love and affection in Paris
Italian brothers Enrico and Marcello Gatti have each distinguished themselves among the world’s finest virtuosos performing alongside Early Music’s leading ensembles and at major festivals across their respective careers. Join them for an intimate program featuring works from Telemann’s celebrated Paris Quartets. The first of two collections, each comprising six works, was originally published in Hamburg before being reissued in Paris in 1736 as a prelude to the composer’s visit to the city the following year. During his stay, Telemann wrote six new quartets for the same instruments, which were published in 1738. Stylish and inventive, these masterpieces are a testament to Telemann’s brilliance and have delighted audiences for centuries with their vivacious yet intricate melodies.
VIRTUAL FESTIVAL
Select events from our 2025 Festival will be recorded live for our 2025 Virtual Festival, premiering this fall. WATCH FOR MORE INFORMATION AT BEMF.ORG!
2025 OPERA & CONCERT SCHEDULE
n 8PM | NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA
ROBERT MEALY, Orchestra Director
CAROLINE COPELAND & HUBERT HAZEBROUCQ, dancers
Rivers of Splendor:
Handel’s
&
Telemann’s Water Music
A highlight of every Festival, the virtuoso BEMF Orchestra led by Orchestra Director Robert Mealy offers two exuberant works full of colorful orchestrations, lively dance rhythms, and regal fanfares. Handel’s Water Music is a collection of three orchestral suites overflowing with vibrant flamboyance that were first performed in spectacular fashion for King George I as he floated up the River Thames. The king was so pleased that he had them repeated several times! Telemann’s own aquatic suite (properly titled Hamburger Ebb’ und Fluth) was written to honor the centenary of the Hamburg admiralty in 1723, and reflects its maritime theme with evocative depictions of various oceanic deities and the “ebb and flow” of Hamburg’s tides. These two great celebrations are brought to life with choreography by special guest dancers Caroline Copeland and Hubert Hazebroucq.
n 10:30PM | NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston
THÉOTIME LANGLOIS DE SWARTE, violin & JUSTIN TAYLOR, harpsichord
The Power of Love: Music of Francoeur, Couperin, Eccles, Bach, Corelli, and others
Immerse yourself in enthralling music performed with theatrical flair and graceful eloquence by two of Early Music’s most exciting young virtuosos: violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte and harpsichordist Justin Taylor. Close colleagues as founders of the ensemble Le Consort, the duo unlock a treasure trove of Baroque gems that showcase their thrilling musicality. Join them for a tour of Baroque Europe with energetic masterpieces and uncovered rarities featuring selections by two sets of brothers François and Louis Francoeur and John and Henry Eccles as well as Rameau, François Couperin, Bach, and Corelli.
FRIDAY, JUNE 13
n 9AM–4PM
First Church Boston & First Lutheran Church of Boston
KEYBOARD MINI-FESTIVAL
(See page 15 for more details.)
n 5PM | Emmanuel Church, Boston
CONSTANTINOPLE with HANA BLAŽÍKOVÁ, soprano
KIYA TABASSIAN, setar, voice & director
Didem Basar, kanun; Neva Özgen, kemenche; Tineke Steenbrink, organ; Johanna Rose, viola da gamba; Tanya LaPerrière, Baroque violin & viola d’amore; Michel Angers, theorbo; Patrick Graham, percussion
Bach & Khayyam
Even if more than 600 years separate the lives of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) and Persian mathematician and poet Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), these two geniuses were
made to meet each other. Both were masters in their respective worlds with commitments to both technical mastery and profound spirituality. Kiya Tabassian leads the Canadian-based ensemble Constantinople in their BEMF début as they bring these two men into a delightful dialogue where the sacred and the sublime transcend borders. Inspired by the ancient city linking the East and West, Constantinople was founded in 2001 and has won acclaim for recordings and performances across 57 different nations. They join with the beguiling soprano Hana Blažíková for a program of religious music by Bach contrasted with poems by Khayyam sung in Persian.
n 7PM | Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, Boston
OCTAVIA THE ROMAN REBELLION
CENTERPIECE OPERA | See pages 4–5 for more details.
n 8PM | Emmanuel Church, Boston VOX LUMINIS
LIONEL MEUNIER, Artistic Director
Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas: Music of Carissimi and Förster
Without Giacomo Carissimi, the oratorio might never have existed. The 17th-century Italian composer and priest was a brilliant free spirit at the time of the counter-reformation and advocated using emotional music to convert the people. His masterly oratorios smuggled the intense expression of opera into spiritual music. Lionel Meunier and Gramophone Award winners Vox Luminis explore Carissimi’s sacred oratorios with his reflections on the
transience of worldly ambitions in Vanitas Vanitatum (Vanity of vanities) and the biblical stories of Jephte and Abraham et Isaac alongside Kaspar Förster’s spiritual take on the vanity of vanities.
n 10:30PM | Emmanuel Church, Boston CONCERTO ROMANO with LUCA CERVONI, tenor
ALESSANDRO QUARTA, Director
Gabriele Pro & Ana Liz Ojeda, violin; André Lislevand, viola da gamba; Giovanni Bellini, theorbo & Baroque guitar; Mario Filippini, double bass; Alessandro Quarta, harpsichord
Arnalta’s Café: An Operatic Nanny Romp through 17th-Century Italy
Director Alessandro Quarta and Concerto Romano are dedicated to bringing their uniquely Roman perspective to timeless music of the Italian Baroque. They return to BEMF with an uproarious showcase of the many nurses and nannies featured in 17th-century operas all very intent on having their say. Arnalta from Monteverdi’s Poppea is the master of ceremonies for a parade of irresistible comic characters (performed en travesti, as is traditional, by tenor Luca Cervoni). Beloved composers such as Monteverdi and Cavalli are juxtaposed with lesser-known masters for operatic scenes bursting with irreverent wit, fiendish mockery, surprising tenderness, and some sage advice as only the nurse can offer!
SATURDAY, JUNE 14
n 5PM | NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston EXTRAVAGAMBA!
CHRISTEL THIELMANN, Director
From Byrd to Purcell and Beyond: Music for 2 to 16 viols
With musicians drawn from the BEMF Orchestra and Festival artists over the years, the BEMF Viol Collective, led by Christel Thielmann, presents a richly varied program of musical gems
2025 OPERA & CONCERT SCHEDULE
guaranteed to touch the heart. Luxuriate in the lush timbres of the viol in beloved selections from the English viol consort repertoire: from noble pavans and lively dances to tuneful ballads with fanciful variations, soulful In nomines to whimsical fantasias, and playful dialogues to haunting harmonies plus some festive polychoral pieces from across the Alps to top off this sonorous feast!
n 8PM | NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston
Robert Mealy, Sarah Darling, Jesse Irons & Beth Wenstrom, violin I; Cynthia Roberts, Julie Andrijeski & Emily Dahl, violin II; Daniel Elyar & Laura Jeppesen, viola; Phoebe Carrai & Keiran Campbell, violoncello; Nathaniel Chase, double bass; Andrea LeBlanc & Mara Riley, flute; Todd Williams & Nathanael Udell, natural horn; Joseph Gascho, harpsichord; Paul O’Dette, archlute; Stephen Stubbs, theorbo & Baroque guitar CHAMBER OPERA | See page 13 for more details.
n 10:30PM | NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL CHAMBER ENSEMBLE & FRIENDS
PAUL O’DETTE & STEPHEN STUBBS, Musical Directors
EMŐKE BARÁTH, AMANDA FORSYTHE,
DANIELLE REUTTER-HARRAH & TERESA WAKIM, soprano
AARON SHEEHAN & JASON MCSTOOTS, tenor
CHRISTIAN IMMLER, bass-baritone
Miloš Valent & Dagmar Valentová, violin; Sarah Darling, viola; Maxine Eilander, Baroque harp, Alessandro Quarta, harpsichord; David Morris, viola da gamba; Paul O’Dette, theorbo; Stephen Stubbs, Baroque guitar
Starry, Starry Night: Music of Monteverdi, Luigi Rossi, Carissimi, and Steffani
Our biennial Festivals bring together leading Early Music artists in our opera productions and concerts throughout this jam-packed week. Musical Directors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs draw from this dazzling array of talent to deal out brilliance as if from an astonishing deck of musical cards for our traditional Saturday-night celebration. Come and party with the stars of our 2025 Festival as we present some of our favorite music from past projects masterworks by Monteverdi, Steffani, Luigi Rossi, and Carissimi as well as rare jewels never before heard on a BEMF concert stage!
SUNDAY, JUNE 15
n 12:30PM | NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston
BOREAS QUARTETT BREMEN with KATHRYN MONTOYA, recorder
CALEB MAYO, narrator
Jin-Ju Baek, Elisabeth Champollion, Julia Fritz & Luise Manske, recorders
Shakespeare in Love
The Festival Concert Week comes to a glorious conclusion with the return of Boreas Quartett Bremen alongside guest artist and BEMF Orchestra member Kathryn Montoya. Performing on their 14-part Renaissance consort, these exceptional artists have created a beautiful program exploring the many stages of love in William Shakespeare’s works. They will present vivid masterpieces by Dowland, Tye, Palestrina, Byrd, and many others, interspersed with readings of Shakespeare’s timeless sonnets and soliloquies by actor Caleb Mayo.
n 3:30PM | Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, Boston
OCTAVIA
THE
ROMAN REBELLION
CENTERPIECE OPERA | See pages 4–5 for more details.
Explore the depth of Telemann’s genius with a fascinating pairing of stylish slapstick and scintillating drama for an evening of show-stopping virtuosity!
Inspired by the Italian comic intermezzi, Pimpinone approaches social class and seduction with brilliant humor and evocative humanity as the narcissistic Pimpinone is stung by the beauty and barbs of his charming chambermaid, Vespetta. The cantata Ino is a true hidden gem with a thrilling story drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Written late in Telemann’s life, this miniature masterpiece is a bridge between the Baroque and Classical eras, full of dynamic theatricality and gorgeous music.
SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 2025
8PM | NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
JUNE 27 & 28, 2025
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA (See page 16 for more details)
SUNDAY, JUNE 29, 2025
4PM | Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Katonah, NY (Learn more at caramoor.org)
PAUL O’DETTE & STEPHEN STUBBS, Musical Directors
GILBERT BLIN & MARIE-NATHALIE LACOURSIÈRE, Stage Directors
ROBERT MEALY, Concertmaster | MELINDA SULLIVAN, Dance Director
MARIE-NATHALIE LACOURSIÈRE, Choreographer
GILBERT BLIN & WERIEM, Costume Designers
KELLY MARTIN, Lighting Director | KATHLEEN FAY, Executive Producer
AMANDA FORSYTHE, Ino
DANIELLE REUTTER-HARRAH, Vespetta
CHRISTIAN IMMLER, Pimpinone
MARIE-NATHALIE LACOURSIÈRE, dancer
BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
FORSYTHE
IMMLER
REUTTER-HARRAH LACOURSIÈRE
2025 ORGAN & KEYBOARD MINI-FESTIVALS
n THURSDAY, JUNE 12 | First Lutheran Church of Boston
ORGAN MINI-FESTIVAL
Join us at the First Lutheran Church, home to the magnificent Richards, Fowkes & Co. Opus 10 organ, and enjoy three programs from leading virtuosos.
n 9AM | KOLA OWOLABI, organ
The Voice of the Organ: Manifestations of Power and Love
Professor of Organ at the University of Notre Dame, Kola Owolabi has performed throughout the United States and Europe and has released three solo recordings. He makes his BEMF début in a program celebrating both the power of music, and the pipe organ as the voice of that power: from Lutheran hymns that refer both to God’s power and his love, to themes of unrequited love in Peter Philips’s Le rossignuol, his setting of a Lassus chanson, to the tremendous power a composer like Handel held over those who performed under his direction.
n 11:30AM | CATALINA VICENS, organetto with TRIO MEDIÆVAL
Riches d’amour
The 14th century saw the organ rise as a powerful symbol of the Catholic Church, embodying both its authority and its divine message. The portative organ, a more portable version of the instrument, played a significant role in spreading the Church’s influence beyond its walls. With its ability to accompany both sacred liturgies and secular celebrations, it reflected the organ’s dual nature: a divine instrument of power and an instrument of joy. Catalina Vicens combines a vibrant international career as a soloist and researcher. She is joined by the voices of Trio
Mediæval in a program that explores the dual role of the organ with selections from the Rossi and Las Huelgas Codices, Philippe de Vitry, Guillaume de Machaut, and Francesco Landini.
n 2PM | ERICA JOHNSON, organ
Reflection and Transformation: Struggles in Power and Love College Organist for Wellesley College, Erica Johnson has enjoyed a distinguished career as a church musician, performer, and instructor of the organ. For her BEMF début, she explores a programmatic reflection of power and love for the organ. From a biblical reordering of power, to the reform of corruption, and the scorn of love, the keyboard repertoire of the 16th to 18th centuries mirrors the struggles of a hierarchical society. The expressive power of this music is reflected not only in the subject matter but also in the rich tapestry of keyboard figuration.
n FRIDAY, JUNE 13
KEYBOARD MINI-FESTIVAL
PLEASE NOTE THE LOCATIONS: The clavichord recital takes place at First Church Boston, while the fortepiano and harpsichord recitals take place across the street at First Lutheran Church of Boston.
n 9AM | First Church Boston
YI-HENG YANG, clavichord
n 11:30AM | First Lutheran Church of Boston
FEDERICO ERCOLI, fortepiano
Farewell: On the Other Side of Love and Power
Bitterness, hope, faith, and despair are just some of the ingredients that mix at the moment of farewell. Federico Ercoli, laureate of the MA Fortepiano Competition 2024, makes his BEMF début in a recital that explores fortepiano examples of this theme from the late 18th and early 19th centuries: from Dussek’s farewell to his beloved friend Clementi, through Haydn’s depiction of Christ’s farewell to earthly life, to Beethoven’s farewell to Archduke Rudolf, his powerful student and patron.
n 2PM | First Lutheran Church of Boston
JUSTIN TAYLOR, harpsichord
Awaken to Love
The playing of keyboardist Yi-heng Yang has been described as “impeccable” (BBC Music) and “superbly adept” (Gramophone). For her BEMF début, she explores the dynamic and expressive range of the clavichord in a program of galant, pre-Romantic improvisatory works by Auernhammer, C. P. E. Bach, and Haydn, which spring directly from the composers’ emotional landscapes. Paired with these are 21st-century pieces in historical keyboard style, by Neo-Baroque composers Mondry and Canzano, as well as short historical-style improvisations interspersed throughout.
French Love
After a spectacular BEMF début with Le Consort in 2024, the stunning virtuoso Justin Taylor returns for the 2025 Keyboard Mini-Festival. His program has its roots in the golden age of French harpsichord, with some of the greatest music ever composed for the instrument, by Rameau, François Couperin, d’Anglebert, and other masters. Be transported by the dazzling emotional intensity expressed by the harpsichord in this recital where all is about love!
BEMF IN THE BERKSHIRES
For more than two decades, BEMF has followed its triumphant Festival week with a weekend of performances in the Berkshires at the acoustically superb and visually dazzling Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. In continuous operation for over a century—first as a vaudeville theater and then as a glorious movie palace—the Mahaiwe Theater is one of the premier live performance venues in western Massachusetts.
BEMF CHAMBER OPERA SERIES presents
“A joy in all its aspects from beginning to end.” —THE BERKSHIRE REVIEW
FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2025
8PM | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA
SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 2025
3PM | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA
(See page 13 for more details)
The BEMF Chamber Opera Series returns to Great Barrington with a fascinating pairing of comedy and drama from Georg Philipp Telemann! Explore the depth and scope of his genius with this revival of the sumptuous 2021 BEMF Chamber Opera Series production of Pimpinone and Ino led by Musical Directors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs and Stage Directors Gilbert Blin and Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière. These performances are made possible by the generous support of the Berkshire Friends of BEMF, whose objective is to foster and promote BEMF’s performing presence in western Massachusetts. To learn more about the Berkshire Friends of BEMF, please contact Kathleen Fay (kathy@bemf.org).
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:
We are profoundly grateful for the support of our devoted fans and friends around the world. More than ever before, your help is crucial to address the difficult challenges we all face, and for us to continue our tradition of bringing you thrilling performances by today’s finest Early Music artists for years to come.
Revenue from ticket sales even from a sold-out performance accounts for less than half of the total cost of producing our operas and concerts. The remainder is derived almost entirely from generous friends like you. Please consider supporting the Boston Early Music Festival with a contribution accompanying your ticket purchase. We thank you for your thoughtful consideration.
Learn more at BEMF.org/Support
EXHIBITION
NEW VENUE FOR 2025!
Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday, 10am–5pm; Friday, 10am–7pm THE COLONNADE HOTEL | 120 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA
THE HEART OF THE BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL is our world-famous Exhibition. As the premier early music trade show in North America and among the largest in the world, the BEMF Exhibition features an international collection of Early Music tradespeople, with makers of period instruments, music publishers, dealers in rare books, prints, and manuscripts, and representatives from leading societies and schools of music. Visit the Exhibition to test new instruments, restock your library, renew old friendships, and immerse yourself in an unparalleled opportunity for enrichment and discovery.
A 2025 EXHIBITION PASS is $10 and lets you in as often as you like.
To register as an Exhibitor, please visit BEMF.org or contact Elizabeth Hardy, Exhibition Manager, at elizabeth@bemf.org or 617-661-1812
“One stop shopping for the… historical performance set.”
— THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
THE BEMF CD STORE
Located at the BEMF Exhibition, the one-of-a-kind BEMF CD Store offers spectacular Early Music recordings for sale, including BEMF’s own GRAMMYwinning series of Baroque opera recordings. An outpost can be found in the lobby of most Festival concerts, including the Chamber Opera with our new recording of Telemann’s Ino. With hundreds of sought-after titles featuring Festival artists and other offerings from the field’s most distinguished artists and labels, be sure to save plenty of time to peruse this extraordinary treasure chest!
SPECIAL PERFORMANCES
n FRIDAY, JUNE 13 AT 3PM | First Church Boston
BEMF 2025 YOUNG ARTISTS TRAINING PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS
In Concert: Handel’s Agrippina
Founded and directed since 2011 by Opera Director Gilbert Blin, the BEMF Young Artists Training Program is an integral component of our biennial Festival. With the goal of nurturing talented young artists through training and performance opportunities, six singers and a dancer have been selected to participate in our 2025 Program. In addition to their participation in the Centerpiece Opera, Keiser’s Octavia, they attend intensive lessons and workshops from the BEMF directorial team and guests. As a special feature of their training, the Young Artists will present an abridged concert performance of Handel’s operatic masterpiece, Agrippina, conceived by 2025 Associate Director Jason McStoots and led by 2025 Musical Director Jeffrey Grossman. Created in Venice in 1709, Agrippina was a remarkable success and “Viva il caro Sassone,” alluding to Handel the Saxon, is said to have resounded at almost every pause of the performances! Agrippina offers thematic and musical connections with Keiser’s Octavia, as both operas highlight Nero, and Handel borrowed several musical themes from Keiser’s setting of Octavia for Agrippina.
This FREE performance will be preceded by a Pre-Opera Talk at First Church Boston, one hour prior to the performance: Nero (His Mother, His Wives, His Lovers): Once More With Feeling, presented by Ellen T. Harris, Class of 1949 Professor Emeritus, MIT
n SUNDAY, JUNE 15 AT 10AM | NEC’s Jordan Hall BEMF YOUTH ENSEMBLE,
BEMF BEYOND BORDERS & A STRING FORT SMITH
Co-presented with the American Recorder Society
For this thrilling and once-in-history performance, which is FREE and open to the public, the BEMF Youth Ensemble, BEMF Beyond Borders including ensembles from Boston, Brazil, and Taiwan and A String Fort Smith join forces to present a fascinating program of Folk Music and music of the High Baroque.
The BEMF Youth Ensemble, directed by Julia McKenzie featuring string and wind players in grades 3 to 12 offers a unique opportunity for students to learn early music performance techniques. With access to period instruments and bows, students learn stylistic and expressive conventions applied to well-known repertoire composed before 1800, as well as early folk music of diverse cultures, for a cross-cultural experience of the development of music over the centuries. A fun and stimulating learning environment includes hourlong sessions throughout the school year.
BEMF Beyond Borders, organized and conceived by 2025 directors Nina Stern and Cléa Galhano, is an international program featuring student recorder ensembles from several continents. Kenya, Brazil, Lebanon, Taiwan, The Netherlands, and the U.S. will be represented at the Festival. In addition to online connections between the students, visiting recorder ensembles from Brazil and Taiwan will rehearse and perform with American students
CONCURRENT EVENTS
throughout the Festival Week. Reaching out to a new generation of players, BEMF Beyond Borders expands our community by providing an opportunity for diverse groups of young players to perform with and for each other, and to celebrate their shared love of music.
A String Fort Smith, founded and directed by Lori Fay, is aimed at fostering excellence and unprecedented performing opportunities for high school– to college-aged students interested in pursuing careers in the performing arts. The ensemble consists of the most advanced students from Fort Smith, Arkansas approximately fifteen to twenty participants per semester who make a commitment to rehearse for one hour once per week. The repertoire selected for A String Fort Smith comprises primarily unabridged works, which students might not otherwise be exposed to in a typical school setting.
All participating students in the BEMF Youth Ensemble, BEMF Beyond Borders, and A String Fort Smith are offered free access to BEMF operas, concerts, concurrent events, and the BEMF Exhibition.
FRINGE CONCERTS
One of the most important features of every Festival is the remarkable array of Fringe Concerts performances by dozens of soloists and ensembles from New England, North America, and Europe that illumine the accomplished musicians and wide-ranging repertoire of the Early Music field. The 2025 lineup will include concerts by Entwyned Early Music, In Stile Moderno, Convivium Musicum, Berkeley Baroque Strings, Stevenson Baroque Ensemble & Viol Consort, SASA Sounds, and Zoe Vandermeer, soprano & triple harp, to name but a few. A complete schedule will be available on the BEMF website starting May 1, 2025.
For Fringe Concert registration materials, please visit BEMF.org or contact Carla Chrisfield, General Manager, at carla@bemf.org or 617-661-1812.
DANCE WORKSHOPS
n SESSION ONE: Thursday, June 12 at 9:30am
n SESSION TWO: Thursday, June 12 at 11:30am Emmanuel Church Music Room, 15 Newbury Street
Raise and lower the nimble foot, set the body with ease and grace (Octavia, Act I, Scene 14)
Enjoy two dance workshops with BEMF Dance Director, Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière. Session One will explore a minuet, “Entrée of Cupid and Zephyr,” from Octavia, Act III. Discover how this most famous court dance, the minuet, can also be a theatrical dance. Session Two will celebrate the 300th anniversary of Pierre Rameau’s Le Maître à danser, one of the key sources for understanding 18th-century dance. Participants of all levels are welcome. Please bring low-heeled, soft shoes and wear comfortable clothing. Admission to each session is included with an 2025 EXHIBITION PASS ($10), but participation is limited to the first 50 attendees.
PERFORMANCE MASTERCLASSES
An assortment of Performance Masterclasses by distinguished Festival musicians will be offered throughout the week. BEMF Masterclasses allow student, amateur, and professional musicians to receive public coaching by some of the top performers in the field today. Auditors are encouraged to attend: admission is included with a 2025 EXHIBITION PASS ($10).
Masterclasses at the 2025 Festival will be presented by:
ORGAN
Kola Owolabi
n Wednesday, June 11, 2:30pm to 4:30pm First Lutheran Church of Boston
BAROQUE HARP
Maxine Eilander
n Thursday, June 12, 11am to 1pm Colonnade East Room, The Colonnade Hotel
FLUTE & VIOLIN
Marcello Gatti and Enrico Gatti
n Friday, June 13, 10am to 12 noon
Emmanuel Church Parish Hall
RECORDER SOLOS AND CONSORTS
Members of Boreas Quartett Bremen
n Saturday, June 14, 1:30pm to 4:30pm
New England Conservatory’s Williams Hall
17TH-CENTURY ACCOMPANIED
SOLO SONG
Ellen Hargis, Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière, Paul O’Dette, and Stephen Stubbs
n Saturday, June 14, 1:30pm to 4:30pm
New England Conservatory’s Burnes Hall
For information about performing in a BEMF Masterclass, please visit BEMF.org or contact Elizabeth Hardy at elizabeth@bemf.org.
FAMILY DAY
n Saturday, June 14, 1pm to 3pm
Boston Ballroom, The Colonnade Hotel
Admission is FREE for children and their caregivers. All ages welcome.
Participate in fun-filled Early Music activities for all ages, followed by a scavenger hunt at the world-famous BEMF Exhibition. Find old and unusual instruments and meet the people who make them with special prizes and treats for all!
SYMPOSIA, LECTURES, CONCERTS
Enjoy unique opportunities to hear from and interact with some of the top scholars and artists in Early Music today in lectures, panel discussions, special performances, and more! Some events are FREE and admission is included with a 2025 EXHIBITION PASS ($10) for all other Concurrent Events.
n Wednesday, June 11, 9:30am to 10:30am First Lutheran Church of Boston
Global Early Musics
Presented by EMA and BEMF
As Early Music America (EMA) celebrates its 40th year of supporting the development of the Early Music community in the U.S. and abroad, and as the Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) celebrates its 23rd biennial gathering for the field of Early Music, we find it relevant now, more than ever, to expand the definition and the scope of our art to include historical traditions and practices from around the world. Join us in this conversation where we will discuss our vision for the future of the field. Moderator: David
OWOLABI
ENRICO GATTI
MARCELLO GATTI
BOREAS QUARTETT BREMEN
HARGIS
CONCURRENT EVENTS
McCormick, EMA Executive Director; Panelists: Kiya Tabbassian, Constantinople; Antonio M. Gómez, Trio Guadalevín, Immediate Past President of Western Arts Alliance; and Agathe Créac’h, Secretary General, REMA – European Early Music Network.
n Wednesday, June 11, 11am to 12:30pm First Lutheran Church of Boston
Emerging Artists Showcase Concert
Presented by EMA and BEMF
Artists of any age who have not otherwise performed regularly in major festivals or concert series can apply to EMA’s Emerging Artists program. Presenting the rising stars of early music and historical performance since 2018, winners have been presented at Early Music festivals in Berkeley, CA, Bloomington, IN, and Boston, MA, and virtually through EMA’s digital platforms. In 2023, the Showcase became a central element of the annual EMA Summit. This very special FREE concert will include four performances by recent Showcase laureates, including Duo CPE, The Fooles, Maryse Legault, and Marie Nadeau-Tremblay.
n Thursday, June 12, 2pm to 3pm Colonnade East Room, The Colonnade Hotel
Designing for Handel and Keiser:
Johann Oswald Harms
This talk by Alexander McCargar, Set Designer for Keiser’s Octavia and a scenographer and art historian currently completing his doctorate at the University of Vienna, Department of Theatre, Film and Media Studies aims to shed light on Johann Oswald Harms, stage designer for the Hamburg Opera starting in 1695. Harms was responsible for visually bringing to life Handel’s first operas and
most of Keiser’s. An exploration of Harms’s drawings can help us to reconstruct these works and to understand what audiences saw when they heard Handel’s and Keiser’s music. For BEMF’s historically informed 2025 Centerpiece opera, Octavia, Harms’s work was instrumental for understanding the German Baroque stage.
n Thursday, June 12 – Saturday, June 14 | Various Locations
Historical Harp Society Annual Conference
The Historical Harp Society is excited to host its 2025 Annual Conference at the June 2025 Boston Early Music Festival. The Conference will include three days packed with concerts and lectures, including a gallery presentation of the historical harp collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston!
n Saturday, June 14, 10am to 12:30pm Boston Ballroom, The Colonnade Hotel
Producing and Performing Keiser’s
Octavia
An engaging conversation about the evolution of BEMF’s North American premiere production of Reinhard Keiser’s Octavia, Ellen T. Harris, Class of 1949 Professor Emeritus, MIT, moderates a panel of specialists including John H. Roberts, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley; Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors; Gilbert Blin, Stage Director; Robert Mealy, Orchestra Director; Hubert Hazebroucq, Choreographer; Anna Kjellsdotter, Costume Designer; and Alexander McCargar, Set Designer as they explore the meticulous research that has been undertaken to bring this operatic masterpiece to the stage.
n Saturday, June 14, two showings at 2:30pm & 3:30pm Boston Ballroom, The Colonnade Hotel
The Making of BEMF’s Circé: A Documentary Film
The centerpiece of the June 2023 Boston Early Music Festival A Celebration of Women was the North American premiere of Henry Desmarest’s 1694 opera, Circé. First performed in 1694 at the Paris Opera, Desmarest’s Circé features a libretto by renowned poet Louise-Geneviève Gillot de Saintonge.
Recapture the glories of our extraordinary Circé journey in this documentary film by BEMF videographer Kathy Wittman, containing footage from the recording studio in Bremen, Germany, interviews with participating BEMF directors, designers, and artists, excerpts from the rehearsal studio as we prepared for our fully staged performances, and footage from the live production! Be captivated, once again, as we relive this epic adventure from Homer’s Odyssey and bring back to life our critically acclaimed performances complete with period-inspired costumes, elegant Baroque dance, magnificent sets, and utterly gorgeous music.
PRE-PERFORMANCE TALKS
PRE-OPERA TALKS will precede all four performances of Keiser’s Octavia, offering audience members fascinating insights into Reinhard Keiser’s life and work. Each will take place at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre at the following times:
n Sunday, June 8 at 2pm
The Power of Love and the Love of Power; presented by Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors; Gilbert Blin, Stage Director; Robert Mealy, Orchestra Director; and Hubert Hazebroucq, Choreographer
n Wednesday, June 11 at 5:30pm
The Power of Love and the Love of Power; presented by Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors
n Friday, June 13 at 5:30pm
n Sunday, June 15 at 2pm
Keiser’s Octavia: Rivalry and Recompense; presented by John H. Roberts, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley
Additional Pre-Opera and Pre-Concert Talks will be offered for the following select events:
n Thursday, June 12 at 4pm | NEC’s Williams Hall
PRE-CONCERT TALK: Enrico Gatti, violin, Marcello Gatti, flute & Friends: “...they made the ears of the court and the city unusually attentive.” Telemann’s so-called Paris Quartets; presented by Dr. Carsten Lange, Director, Center for Telemann Research Magdeburg
n Thursday, June 12 at 7pm | NEC’s Williams Hall
PRE-CONCERT TALK: BEMF Orchestra
The Water Music: On It or In It?; presented by Ellen T. Harris, Class of 1949 Professor Emeritus, MIT
n Friday, June 13 at 2pm | First Church Boston
PRE-OPERA TALK: BEMF 2025 Young Artists Training Program: George Frideric Handel’s Agrippina
Nero (His Mother, His Wives, His Lovers): Once More With Feeling; presented by Ellen T. Harris, Class of 1949 Professor Emeritus, MIT
n Saturday, June 14 at 7pm | NEC’s Williams Hall
PRE-OPERA TALK: Georg Philipp Telemann’s Pimpinone and Ino Telemann’s Pimpinone and Ino; presented by Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors, and Fynn Liess, Artistic Manager and Dramaturg, Center for Telemann Research Magdeburg
TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS & VENUES
Please see the PLAN YOUR VISIT section of our website for complete travel, lodging, venue, directions, parking, and other visitor information. All venues are located in Boston, Massachusetts, unless otherwise noted. BEMF-recommended subway stops (The ) and nearby parking locations are noted. All BEMF 2025 venues are accessible to the physically impaired.
1 The Colonnade Hotel | 120 Huntington Avenue 617-424-7000 | 800-962-3030 | colonnadehotel.com
Prudential
The Colonnade Hotel Garage
The host of the 2025 Festival & Exhibition, The Colonnade Hotel is centrally located and exquisitely appointed in Boston’s iconic Back Bay. You may make your reservation directly by calling the Hotel at 617-424-7000 or at 800-962-3030. Please reference that you are part of the Boston Early Music Festival to receive the special rate of $359 single / double (state and local taxes not included). You may also make a reservation online at BEMF.org/hotel/. All reservations must be made by Friday, May 16, 2025, in order to receive the special group rate. Rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so we encourage you to book your room well in advance of the deadline.
2 Dormitory Rooms at Northeastern University 60 Belvidere Street | Learn more at BEMF.org/visit/
Prudential Prudential Center Garage
Northeastern University offers private single-room and double-room accommodations in a fully air-conditioned, state-of-the-art residence hall. The 60 Belvidere Residence Hall has secure access, a 24-hour proctored front desk, and complimentary WiFi. Rates are $120 per person/per night for a single-room with a private bath, and $190 per night for a shared double-room with a private bath. Basic linens are provided, but please note that breakfast and parking are not included as part of the accommodation. Reservations must be made through the BEMF office. Rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and we encourage you to book your room well in advance. BEMF will accept reservations through Tuesday, May 20, 2025, after which time reservations will be accepted pending inventory.
3 Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre
219 Tremont Street
Box Office: 617-824-8400 | EmersonTheatres.org
Boylston or Tufts Medical Center
Transportation Building Garage
Please note that there is no elevator service to the mezzanine and balcony levels.
4 New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall & Williams Hall | 30 Gainsborough Street
New England Conservatory’s Burnes Hall
255 St. Botolph Street
Symphony or Massachusetts Ave
Gainsborough Garage
5 Emmanuel Church | 15 Newbury Street
Arlington Boston Common Garage
6 First Lutheran Church of Boston 299 Berkeley Street
Arlington Boston Common Garage
7 First Church Boston | 66 Marlborough Street
Arlington Boston Common Garage
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA Box Office: 413-528-0100 | mahaiwe.org
Please note that there is no elevator service to the mezzanine and balcony levels.
Programs are subject to change. All venues are located in Boston, Massachusetts, unless otherwise indicated.
KEY TO VENUE ABBREVIATIONS
BB Boston Ballroom, The Colonnade Hotel
CER Colonnade East Room, The Colonnade Hotel
CMT Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre
EC Emmanuel Church
ECMR Emmanuel Church Music Room
FCB First Church Boston
FLC First Lutheran Church of Boston
JH New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall
WH New England Conservatory’s Williams Hall
2025 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
SUNDAY, JUNE 8
2pm PRE-OPERA TALK: Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors; Gilbert Blin, Stage Director; Robert Mealy, Orchestra Director; Hubert Hazebroucq, Choreographer: The Power of Love and the Love of Power, Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre (CMT), 219 Tremont Street
3:10pm OPENING FANFARE: Members of the BEMF Orchestra, Lobby, CMT
3:30pm OPERA: Opening Performance of Reinhard Keiser’s Octavia, CMT
MONDAY, JUNE 9
5pm CONCERT: ACRONYM: Amor Temporalia: Music of Bertali, Schmelzer, Valentini, and others, New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall (JH), 30 Gainsborough Street
8pm CONCERT: The Tallis Scholars, directed by Peter Phillips, and The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble: Jubilate! Music of Lassus, Palestrina, Gombert, Andrea Gabrieli, and Giovanni Gabrieli, JH
10:30pm CONCERT: Aaron Sheehan, tenor, and Paul O’Dette, lute & theorbo: The Excellency of Wine: Songs by Dowland, Guédron, Moulinié, and Henry Lawes, JH
TUESDAY, JUNE 10
5pm
8pm
CONCERT: Ensemble Castor, with Sherezade Panthaki, soprano: Inspiring Genius – Precious Friendships: Music of Keiser, Handel, Bach, and Telemann, JH
CONCERT: The Boston Camerata, directed by Anne Azéma: A Gallery of Kings: Uses and Abuses of Power, ca. 1300, JH
10:30pm CONCERT: Pacific MusicWorks, directed by Stephen Stubbs, with Danielle Reutter-Harrah, soprano: Murder, Mayhem, Melancholy, and Madness: Music of Dowland, William Lawes, Purcell, and others, JH
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11
9:30am– SYMPOSIUM: Global Early Musics, The First Lutheran 10:30am Church of Boston (FLC), 299 Berkeley Street
10am– EXHIBITION: Huntington Ballroom, 5pm The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Avenue
11am– CONCERT: Early Music America’s Emerging Artists 12:30pm Showcase Concert, FLC
2:30pm– MASTERCLASS: Kola Owolabi, organ, FLC 4:30pm
5pm
CONCERT: The Tallis Scholars, directed by Peter Phillips: Inspired by the Sistine Chapel: Music of Palestrina, Allegri, Morales, and others, Emmanuel Church (EC), 15 Newbury Street
2025 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
5:30pm PRE-OPERA TALK: Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors: The Power of Love and the Love of Power, CMT
6:40pm OPENING FANFARE: Members of the BEMF Orchestra, Lobby, CMT
7pm OPERA: Reinhard Keiser’s Octavia, CMT
8pm CONCERT: Trio Mediæval with Catalina Vicens, organetto: Love abounds in everything: Music of Hildegard von Bingen and Leonel Power, EC
10:30pm CONCERT: The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble: Songs without words: Music of Palestrina, Victoria, Grandi, Giovanni Gabrieli, and Merulo, EC
THURSDAY, JUNE 12
9am– ORGAN MINI-FESTIVAL, Part One: Kola Owolabi, 11am The Voice of the Organ: Manifestations of Power and Love, FLC
9:30am– DANCE WORKSHOP: Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière,
11am BEMF Dance Director: Session One, Emmanuel Church Music Room (ECMR), 15 Newbury Street
10am– EXHIBITION: Huntington Ballroom, 5pm The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Avenue
11am– MASTERCLASS: Maxine Eilander, Baroque Harp, 1pm Colonnade East Room (CER), The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Avenue
11:30am– DANCE WORKSHOP: Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière, 1pm BEMF Dance Director: Session Two, ECMR
11:30am– ORGAN MINI-FESTIVAL, Part Two: Catalina Vicens, 1:30pm organetto, with Trio Mediæval, Riches d’amour, FLC
2pm–3pm LECTURE: Alexander McCargar: Designing for Handel and Keiser: Johann Oswald Harms, CER
2pm–4pm ORGAN MINI-FESTIVAL, Part Three: Erica Johnson, Reflection and Transformation: Struggles in Power and Love, FLC
4pm PRE-CONCERT TALK: Dr. Carsten Lange, Director, Center for Telemann Research Magdeburg: “…they made the ears of the court and the city unusually attentive.” Telemann’s so-called Paris Quartets, New England Conservatory’s Williams Hall (WH), 30 Gainsborough Street
5pm CONCERT: Enrico Gatti, violin, Marcello Gatti, flute & Friends: Flatteusement, Vivement & Tendrement: The power of love and affection in Paris, JH
7pm PRE-CONCERT TALK: Ellen T. Harris, Class of 1949 Professor Emeritus, MIT: The Water Music: On It or In It?, WH
8pm
CONCERT: Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Robert Mealy, Orchestra Director with Caroline Copeland and Hubert Hazebroucq, dancers: Rivers of Splendor: Handel’s and Telemann’s Water Music, JH
10:30pm CONCERT: Théotime Langlois de Swarte, violin, and Justin Taylor, harpsichord: The Power of Love: Music of Francoeur, Couperin, Eccles, Bach, Corelli, and others, JH
FRIDAY, JUNE 13
9am–
KEYBOARD MINI-FESTIVAL, Part One: Yi-heng Yang, 11am clavichord, Awaken to Love, First Church Boston (FCB), 66 Marlborough Street
10am– EXHIBITION: Huntington Ballroom, 7pm The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Avenue
10am– MASTERCLASS: Enrico Gatti, violin & Marcello Gatti, 12 noon flute, Emmanuel Church Parish Hall, 15 Newbury Street
11:30am– KEYBOARD MINI-FESTIVAL, Part Two: Federico Ercoli, 1:30pm fortepiano, Farewell: On the Other Side of Love and Power, FLC
2pm–4pm KEYBOARD MINI-FESTIVAL, Part Three: Justin Taylor, harpsichord, French Love, FLC
2pm PRE-CONCERT TALK: Ellen T. Harris, Class of 1949 Professor Emeritus, MIT: Nero (His Mother, His Wives, His Lovers): Once More With Feeling, FCB
3pm SPECIAL CONCERT: BEMF 2025 Young Artists Training Program participants: George Frideric Handel’s Agrippina; Gilbert Blin, Founder & Director; Jason McStoots, Associate Director, 2025; Jeffrey Grossman, Musical Director, 2025, FCB
5pm CONCERT: Constantinople, directed by Kiya Tabassian, setar with Hana Blažíková, soprano: Bach & Khayyam, EC
5:30pm PRE-OPERA TALK: John H. Roberts, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley: Keiser’s Octavia: Rivalry and Recompense, CMT
6:40pm OPENING FANFARE: Members of the BEMF Orchestra, Lobby, CMT
7pm OPERA: Reinhard Keiser’s Octavia, CMT
8pm CONCERT: Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier, Artistic Director: Vanitas Vanitatum et omnia vanitas: Music of Carissimi and Förster, EC
10:30pm CONCERT: Concerto Romano, directed by Alessandro Quarta with Luca Cervoni, tenor: Arnalta’s Café: An Operatic Nanny Romp through 17th-Century Italy, EC
SATURDAY, JUNE 14
10am– BEMF SYMPOSIUM: Producing and Performing Keiser’s 12:30pm Octavia, moderated by Ellen T. Harris, with John H. Roberts, Paul O’Dette, Stephen Stubbs, Gilbert Blin, Robert Mealy, Hubert Hazebroucq, Anna Kjellsdotter, and Alexander McCargar, Boston Ballroom (BB), The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Avenue
10am– EXHIBITION: Huntington Ballroom, 5pm The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Avenue
1pm–3pm FAMILY DAY: Early Music activities for all ages and a Scavenger Hunt at the World-Famous BEMF Exhibition, BB
1:30pm– MASTERCLASS: Boreas Quartett Bremen, recorder 4:30pm solos and consorts, WH
1:30pm– MASTERCLASS: Ellen Hargis, Marie-Nathalie
4:30pm Lacoursière, Paul O’Dette, and Stephen Stubbs: 17th-century accompanied solo song, New England Conservatory’s Burnes Hall, 255 St. Botolph Street
2:30pm FILM: The Making of BEMF’s Circé: A Documentary & 3:30pm Film (two showings), BB
5pm CONCERT: BEMF Viol Collective, directed by Christel Thielmann: ExtravaGamba! From Byrd to Purcell and Beyond: Music for 2 to 16 viols, JH
2025 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
SUNDAY, JUNE 15
10am– SPECIAL YOUTH CONCERT: BEMF Youth Ensemble, 11am Julia McKenzie, director, BEMF Beyond Borders, Nina Stern and Cléa Galhano, directors, and A String Fort Smith, Lori Fay, director, JH
12:30pm CONCERT: Boreas Quartett Bremen, with Caleb Mayo, narrator, and guest artist Kathryn Montoya, recorder: Shakespeare in Love, JH
2pm PRE-OPERA TALK: John H. Roberts, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley: Keiser’s Octavia: Rivalry and Recompense, CMT
3:10pm OPENING FANFARE: Members of the BEMF Orchestra, Lobby, CMT
3:30pm OPERA: Reinhard Keiser’s Octavia, CMT
BEMF IN THE BERKSHIRES
All events take place at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, Massachusetts
FRIDAY, JUNE 27
7pm
PRE-OPERA TALK: Members of the Pimpinone and Ino Directorial Team
8pm CHAMBER OPERA: Georg Philipp Telemann’s Pimpinone and Ino
SATURDAY, JUNE 28
2pm
3pm
PRE-OPERA TALK: Members of the Pimpinone and Ino Directorial Team
CHAMBER OPERA: Georg Philipp Telemann’s Pimpinone and Ino
7pm PRE-OPERA TALK: Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors, and Fynn Liess, Artistic Manager and Dramaturg, Centre for Telemann Research Magdeburg: Telemann’s Pimpinone and Ino, WH
8pm CHAMBER OPERA: Georg Philipp Telemann’s Pimpinone and Ino, JH
10:30pm CONCERT: Emőke Baráth, Amanda Forsythe, Danielle Reutter-Harrah, and Teresa Wakim, soprano; Aaron Sheehan and Jason McStoots, tenor; Christian Immler, bass-baritone & BEMF Chamber Ensemble, Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors: Starry, Starry Night: Music of Monteverdi, Luigi Rossi, Carissimi, and Steffani, JH
BEMF AT CARAMOOR
All events take place at the Venetian Theatre, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, New York
SUNDAY, JUNE 29
3pm
4pm
PRE-OPERA TALK: Members of the Pimpinone and Ino Directorial Team
CHAMBER OPERA: Georg Philipp Telemann’s Pimpinone and Ino
2019 | Orlando generoso | PHOTO: KATHY WITTMAN