GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685-1759)
Messiah, A Sacred Oratorio (1741)
Messiah’s power, glory, and majesty make it the greatest and most beloved oratorio in all the world. The premiere of Messiah took place in 1742 in Dublin to benefit three charitable organizations. It was anticipated with great excitement—so much so that a local newspaper pleaded with audiences planning to attend to reduce the bulk of their clothing (in order to sell more tickets, and thus bring in more money for the charities): “The Stewards of the Charitable Musical Society request the Favour of the Ladies not to come with Hoops this Day to the Musick-Hall in Fishamble Street. The Gentlemen are desired to come without their Swords, as it will greatly increase the Charity, by making Room for more company.” In 1741, Handel’s friend Charles Jennens (1700-1773) had sent the composer a libretto of Old and New Testament texts he had compiled; Handel was so taken with it that he immediately set to work and completed his inspired score—full of dazzling solos, pyrotechnical instrumental passages, and memorable choruses—in an incredible three weeks. Messiah is divided into three parts: I. The prophecy and nativity of Christ as redeemer of the world (including the joyous “Unto us a Child is Born”); II. The Passion and its redemptive meaning, with the stirring “Hallelujah Chorus” (Audience Alert: this does not signal the end of the work, just intermission); and III. An affirmation of faith and the promise of redemption, resurrection, and life eternal. Handel biographer Paul Henry Lang wrote about the most famous chorus of Messiah: “When the Hallelujah Chorus is thundered, its wondrous strains exuding power and pomp, the audience gets to its feet to greet a mighty ruler in whose presence we do not kneel but stand at attention.” King George II must have known that when he rose out of respect for the performance. We still do so today.

Harry Bicket, artistic director designate of The English Concert, is an expert on Baroque and Classical repertoire, particularly the works of Handel. He has appeared with the Royal Opera Covent Garden, English National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper, Barcelona’s Teatro de Gran Liceu, The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Los Angeles Opera. He also performs regularly with U.S. ensembles including the Detroit, Houston, and San Francisco symphony orchestras; Minnesota and St. Paul Chamber Orchestras; Los Angeles Philharmonic; and, abroad, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Iceland Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Royal Stockholm, and Rotterdam and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras. Mr. Bicket’s discography includes Gramophone-nominated discs with David Daniels and Susan Graham, and two Handel discs: a collection of opera arias with Renée Fleming, and selections from Theodora, Serse, and the cantata La Lucrezia with the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. He is making his New York Philharmonic debut in these concerts.

Montreal native Dominique Labelle first came to international prominence as Donna Anna in Peter Sellars’s production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, which she performed in New York, Paris, and Vienna. Her appearances have included solo recitals at New York’s Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center, and the 92nd Street Y; The Vocal Arts Society in Washington, D.C.; and appearances in Boston, Montreal, Moscow, Quebec, and London, among others. Her performances have included works by Bach, Handel, and Mozart, with modern- and period-instrument orchestras alike. Ms. Labelle’s last appearance with the New York Philharmonic was on tour in June 2002, when she performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in Taipei. Her last Philharmonic subscription concert appearance was in December 2000.

STEPHANIE BLYTHE, mezzo-soprano, born in Mongaup Valley, NY
Stephanie Blythe has sung in many of the renowned opera houses in the US and Europe including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and the Opera National de Paris. Her many roles include the title roles in Carmen, La Grande Duchesse, Tancredi, Mignon, and Guilio Cesare; Fricka (Das Rheingold and Die Walküre) , Azucena (Il Trovatore) , Ulrica (Un Ballo in Maschera) , Baba the Turk (The Rake's Progress) , Isabella (L'Italiana in Algeri) , Mistress Quickly (Falstaff) , Ino/Juno (Semele) , and Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus) .

Ms. Blythe has appeared with many of the finest orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The many conductors with whom she has worked include Harry Bicket, James Conlon, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, James Levine, Sir Charles Mackerras, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Patrick Summers, and Michael Tilson Thomas.

Ms. Blythe was recently named Musical America’s Vocalist of the Year for 2009. Her other awards include the 2007 Opera News Award and the 1999 Richard Tucker Award.

“With each performance the American mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe gives, it becomes increasingly apparent that a once-in-a-generation opera singer has arrived.” (The New York Times)

Tenor Bruce Ford has appeared frequently in European opera and concert halls such as Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, and in Bologna, Naples, Genoa, Florence, Amsterdam, Brussels, Zürich, and Geneva. His American appearances include The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dallas Opera, Los Angeles Opera, and San Francisco Opera. For more than a decade he has been instrumental in the re-evaluation of many bel canto operas, both on disc and in live performances, and is regarded as one of today’s most authoritative Rossini and Mozart interpreters. Mr. Ford’s last appearance with the New York Philharmonic was in February 2004, in Haydn’s The Creation, conducted by Music Director Lorin Maazel.

Bass-baritone Neal Davies has performed with The Cleveland Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. His recordings include Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream led by Sir Colin Davis; Handel’s Messiah and the oratorios Theodora and Saul under Paul McCreesh; and Vivaldi cantatas and Handel’s L’Allegro led by Robert King. Recent appearances have included the roles of Ariodates in Handel’s Xerxes; Kolenaty in Janačék’s The Makropoulos Case for English National Opera; and Zebul in Carissimi’s Jephtha for Welsh National Opera. Mr. Davies won the Lieder Prize at the 1991 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, and since 1992 has been a regular guest at the Edinburgh Festival and at the BBC Proms. He is making his Philharmonic debut in these concerts.

The Westminster Symphonic Choir (WSC), directed by Joe Miller, is composed of students at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and has recorded and performed with major orchestras under virtually every internationally known conductor of the last 75 years. In the 2009–10 season the choir will perform John Adams’s El Niño with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas; and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, led by Sir Roger Norrington at Carnegie Hall. The WSC’s 2008–09 season included a series of performances with the New York Philharmonic, including Handel’s Messiah, led by Ton Koopman, and Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, conducted by Lorin Maazel. The choir also performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mariss Jansons, and Mahler Symphonies Nos. 2, 3, and 8, with the Berlin Staatskapelle led by Pierre Boulez. The Women of the Westminster Symphonic Choir last appeared with the New York Philharmonic in February 2009, performing Mendelssohn’s Die erste Walpurgisnacht, led by Music Director Emeritus Kurt Masur.