Whether you like the intimacy of chamber music, the radiance of a choir, the promise of a new opera, or the surge of a full orchestra, this week brings a typically diverse array for listeners in Philadelphia and beyond.
Spotlight: Sleepers Awake at Opera Philadelphia — Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, Academy of Music
Acclaimed for his McCarthy-era opera Fellow Travelers (2016), and on the heels of The Righteous, which premiered in 2024 at the Santa Fe Opera, composer Gregory Spears unveils his latest creation, Sleepers Awake, inspired by the tale of Sleeping Beauty.
Spears also crafted the libretto, primarily from Dornröschen by the Swiss writer Robert Walser, with additional texts from Arthur Quiller-Couch (a.k.a., “Q” and author of the Oxford Book of English Verse), and the Lutheran minister and poet, Philipp Nicolai. But in this case, the familiar fairy tale comes with a twist: when the princess awakes, rather than rejoicing, she is annoyed. As scholar Valerie Heffernan wrote about the Walser story, “She initially sees no reason why she should marry the prince who woke her from her slumber, and only agrees to walk down the aisle after much persuasion.”
For Opera Philadelphia, Jenny Koons directs, Corrado Rovaris conducts, and the three intrepid stars are soprano Susanne Burgess as Thorn Rose, tenor Jonghyun Park as the Stranger, and baritone Brian Major as the Court Poet. In addition, the company mentions that “the chorus has the starring role,” which bodes well for listeners who adore the cadre of well-trained singers under the direction of the company’s chorus master, Elizabeth Braden.
April 22 at 7 p.m., April 24 at 8 p.m., and April 26 at 2 p.m., Academy of Music, 240 South Broad Street, $11 to $250; tickets and information.
Bolero and Don Juan — Thursday through Saturday, Marian Anderson Hall
After hearing the superstar trio Time for Three at Joe’s Pub in New York, composer Kevin Puts wrote Contact to showcase their talents, and a resulting recording with The Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Xian Zhang won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Composition. For these concerts, Principal Guest Conductor Marin Alsop has placed it as the centerpiece of an eclectic program that includes Haydn’s Symphony No. 59, subtitled “Fire,” and Richard Strauss’s epic Don Juan. To conclude comes Ravel’s Boléro, one of the greatest examples of early minimalism, a 1928 precursor to triumphs by modern masters like Philip Glass and Steve Reich.
April 23 at 7:30 p.m., April 24 at 2 p.m., and April 25 at 8 p.m., Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 S. Broad Street, $29-$230; tickets and information.
Tai Murray and Gilles Vonsattel — Thursday, Perelman Theater
Almost sold out, this delectable Philadelphia Chamber Music Society evening with violinist Tai Murray and pianist Gilles Vonsattel ends with a rarity by the Hungarian-born composer Karl Goldmark, whose chamber music is not widely performed in the United States. A delightful half-hour, the Suite in E Major (1869) has been recorded only a handful of times over the years. Almost as scarce are the works of the Polish composer, Grażyna Bacewicz, though her name recognition has grown over the last few years, and this talented duo will present two of her enchanting miniatures, Oberek and Humoresque. Rounding out the program is a Beethoven stalwart, his Violin Sonata in A Minor, Op. 23, and Enescu’s Sonata in F Minor, the second of his three magical contributions to the violin sonata galaxy.
April 23 at 7:30 p.m., Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 S Broad Street, limited-view seating options are available; call the box office at 215-569-8080.
Tiburtina Ensemble — Thursday, Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral
In their first visit to Philadelphia, sponsored by Penn Live Arts, the Czech Republic-based Tiburtina Ensemble brings their medieval focus to the works of Hildegard of Bingen in an evening called Celestial Harmony. The all-female vocal group — its name derived from a renowned fourth-century prophetess — is directed by soprano Barbora Kabátková, who studies Gregorian chant at Charles University in Prague. Performing with a harpist colleague, the vocalists will likely sound luminous in the acoustics of the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral.
April 23 at 7 p.m., Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 19 South 38th Street, $59; tickets and information.
Delaware Symphony — Friday and Sunday, The Grand Opera House, Wilmington, DE
For these Delaware Symphony concerts titled “Flames of Renewal,” conductor Michelle Di Russo will showcase the repertory’s fiery side. It’s no accident that Carlos Simon’s Four Black American Dances (2023) is making the rounds of major American orchestras. Originally commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Simon’s tetralogy has already shown up in Cincinnati and Minneapolis. Its four sections — “Ring Shout,” “Waltz,” “Tap!” and “Holy Dance” — flicker with choreographic life. After that comes Gershwin’s eternally warm-hearted Piano Concerto in F with pianist Peter Dugan, familiar to some listeners as the host of NPR’s From the Top. And the high temperatures reach a climax with Stravinsky’s suite from The Firebird, which (if you’ll forgive all the metaphors) will likely send everyone home in a blaze of gratitude.
April 24 at 7:30 p.m. and April 26 at 2:30 p.m., The Grand Opera House, 818 North Market Street, Wilmington, DE, $35-95; tickets and information.
Allentown Symphony Orchestra — Saturday and Sunday, Miller Symphony Hall, Allentown, PA
For many listeners, the poignant strains of Mozart’s Requiem alone would be enough to entice them into the concert hall, but the Allentown Symphony Orchestra has chosen two works as an unusual preface. Drawing on her interest in psychological well-being, Wisconsin-based composer Autumn Maria Reed wrote Mental Health Suite in 2024, and with similar roots in anxiety and fear, composer Joe Jaxson wrote Anchored, which will have its world premiere with cellist Jalayne Mitchell.
For the Mozart, the soloists include mezzo-soprano Amanda Russo Stante, soprano Emilie Kealani, baritone Erik Tofte, and tenor Ethan Burck, plus the Allentown Symphony Chorus, directed by chorus master Eduardo Azzati — all led by conductor Diane Wittry. In a program note, perhaps with an oblique nod to the evening’s first half, Dr. Richard E. Rodda quotes the renowned Mozartean pianist, Lili Kraus: “There is no feeling — human or cosmic, no depth, no height the human spirit can reach — that is not contained in his music.”
April 25 at 7:30 p.m. and April 26 at 2:00 p.m., Miller Symphony Hall, 23 North 6th Street, Allentown, PA, $30-$81; tickets and information.
