New York, NY — January 3, 2024 — The 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY), one of New York’s leading cultural venues, presents Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra with Richard Egarr and Reginald Mobley: Garden of Good & Evil on Thursday, January 25, 2024 at 7:30 pm. Tickets start at $30 and are available at https://www.92ny.org/event/philharmonia-baroque-orchestra.
America’s premier Baroque ensemble joins with music director and harpsichordist Richard Egarr and countertenor Reginald Mobley, bringing their compelling program performed to acclaim in the UK. Centered on the creation story, Garden of Good & Evil pairs Handel arias with modern works for Baroque forces by celebrated composers Errollyn Wallen and Tarik O’Regan – jointly commissioned to write new music exploring aspects of the Biblical creation story in a project called Ancestor. Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra’s blend of authenticity and innovation, and juxtaposition of old and new is beautifully illuminated in this musical examination of the most profound of themes.
Handel, Overture to Orlando
Handel, “Al lampo dell’armi” from Giulio Cesare
Handel, “Orride larve … Chiudetevi miei lumi” from Admeto
Handel, Concerto Grosso in A Minor, Op. 6, No. 4, HWV 322
Handel, Concerto Grosso in B-flat Major, Op. 6, No. 7, HWV 325
Handel, “O sacred oracles of truth” from Belshazzar
Handel, “Se in fiorito ameno prato” from Giulio Cesare
Wallen & O’Regan, Ancestor
Errollyn Wallen, The Forms (New York premiere)
Tarik O’Regan, The Golden Measure (New York premiere)
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Under the musical direction of Richard Egarr in his second season as Music Director, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale (PBO) is recognized as “America’s leading historically informed ensemble” (The New York Times). Considered the most versatile ensemble of its kind, and performing on period instruments, PBO presents repertoire ranging from early Baroque to late Romantic, as well as new works and major operatic productions. The ensemble engages audiences through its signature Bay Area series, national and international tours, recordings, commissions, and education programs. Having celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, PBO was founded by Laurette Goldberg and led by Music Director Laureate Nicholas McGegan for the past 35 years. Philharmonia is the largest ensemble of its kind in the United States.
PBO welcomes eminent guest artists including Susan Graham, Anne Sofie von Otter, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Steven Isserlis, Jonathan Cohen and Jeannette Sorrell. PBO enjoys longstanding artistic collaborations with The Juilliard School, the Mark Morris Dance Group, and the American Modern Opera Company (AMOC), and appears regularly at Disney Hall, Lincoln Center, Norfolk Chamber Festival and Tanglewood. In collaboration with Cal Performances in 2017, PBO produced a fully-staged period opera, Rameau’s Le Temple de la Gloire, and produced a fully-staged, reimagined production of Handel’s Aci, Galatea e Polifemo directed by Christopher Alden and featuring Anthony Roth Costanzo, Davóne Tines, and Lauren Snouffer in eight sold out performances in January 2020. Aci was named Best Operatic Performance in the Bay Area by San Francisco Classical Voice in 2020.
PBO boasts a discography of nearly 50 recordings, including a coveted archival performance of mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in Berlioz’s Les Nuits D’été, and a GRAMMY®-nominated recording of Haydn symphonies. The orchestra released the world premiere recording of the original version of Rameau’s Le Temple de la Gloire with the unedited libretto by Voltaire in 2018. In 2020, PBO released a collection of works by Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw, the first orchestra in the Bay Area to commission the composer. Shaw wrote three works for Anne Sofie von Otter and the Orchestra, as well as a major choral work. The first work premiered at LA’s Disney Hall; the third at Lincoln Center.
During the pandemic, the organization has presented more than 100 virtual programs, including the popular Live from Amsterdam with Music Director Richard Egarr, and What’s New and H.I.P. with Tarik O’Regan and Richard Egarr, focused on notions surrounding new music.
Noted for his ‘shimmering voice’ (BachTrack), GRAMMY-nominated American countertenor Reginald Mobley is globally renowned for his interpretation of baroque, classical and modern repertoire, and leads a prolific career on both sides of the Atlantic.
An advocate for diversity in music and its programming, Reginald became the first ever Programming Consultant for the Handel & Haydn Society following leading H&H in its community-engaging “Every Voice” concerts. He is a Visiting Artist for Diversity Outreach with the Baroque ensemble Apollo’s Fire and is also leading a research project in the UK funded by the AHRC to uncover music by composers from diverse backgrounds.
His American concert schedule includes solo recitals at the Miller Theatre in New York and at the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, performing Handel’s Messiah with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Philadelphia and Minnesota orchestras and Carmina Burana with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as well as regular appearances with prestigious baroque ensembles including the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Early Music Vancouver, Collegium San Diego, and Seraphic Fire. Recent and future debut highlights include the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood with Andris Nelsons, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Orchestre Métropolitain de Montreal, conducted by Masaaki Suzuki.
In Europe, Reginald has been invited to perform with Orchester Wiener Akademie, Balthasar Neumann Chor & Ensemble, Freiburger Barockorchester, I Barocchisti, Bach Society in Stuttgart, Holland Baroque Orchestra, Dutch Bach Society, Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, as well as the City of Birmingham Orchestra and the Budapest Festival Orchestra for a series of performances as Ottone in L’incoronazione di Poppea. He has also engaged in projects with the Academy of Ancient Music in Cambridge, singing the role of Disinganno in Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno and devising a new program called “Sons of England.” Supported by UKAHRC, the program reflects his research under their umbrella and will be touring in April 2024. Reginald gave a Purcell, Handel and Sancho program for his solo debut recital in Paris, which he repeated as part of the Bayreuth baroque opera festival in September 2023.
His first solo album with ALPHA Classics was released to great acclaim in June 2023 to coincide with a major series of concerts with pianist Baptiste Trotignon in Paris, York and Liverpool as well as part of both the Aix-en-Provence and BBC PROMS festivals. In addition, Reginald features on several albums with the Monteverdi Choir, Agave Baroque and Stuttgart Bach Society.
For more information, please visit 92NY.org/Concerts.
About The 92nd Street Y, New York: The 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a world-class center for the arts and innovation, a convener of ideas, and an incubator for creativity. 92NY offers extensive classes, courses and events online including live concerts, talks and master classes; fitness classes for all ages; 250+ art classes, and parenting workshops for new moms and dads. The 92nd Street Y, New York is transforming the way people share ideas and translate them into action all over the world. All of 92NY’s programming is built on a foundation of Jewish values, including the capacity of civil dialogue to change minds; the potential of education and the arts to change lives; and a commitment to welcoming and serving people of all ages, races, religions, and ethnicities. For more information, visit www.92NY.org.