Handel's Wicked Queen - April 2009

Join Music Director Nicholas McGegan and PBO to close out the Orchestra's 28th Season with this dramatic tale of the Old Testament's most wicked and brutal queen.

Program Notes | Audio Preview

San Francisco Classical Voice Feature

Berkeley Daily Planet Preview

SF Opera Examiner Blog Post

“In commemoration of Handel, one of PBO’s signature composers, I’ve chosen his oratorio Athalia – based on the story of the Biblical queen Athaliah – to close our season.  This work brings together the best of what PBO offers: a dramatic story, in a musical style the musicians play with virtuosity and verve, an international cast of the best vocal soloists from around the world, and the fabulous Philharmonia Chorale – a chorus unmatched in singing the music of Handel. For me, conducting Handel with PBO is like driving a Rolls Royce!”

- Nicholas McGegan, conductor