UNT System
Graeme Jenkins, music director of the Dallas Opera, leading UNT ensembles in a collaboration between
Jenkins and the UNT Early Music Program.
What: Handel's oratorio Theodora — Graeme Jenkins, music director of the Dallas Opera, leads the University of North Texas Baroque Orchestra, Collegium Singers and A Cappella Choir. Featuring Ava Pine as Theodora, Ryland Angel as Didymus, and UNT faculty members Richard Croft as Septimius, Jeffrey Snider as Valens and Jennifer Lane as Irene.
When/Where:
7:30 p.m. Feb. 23 (Thursday)
Winspear Hall, UNT Murchison Performing Arts Center, located along the north side of Interstate 35E at North Texas Boulevard in Denton
7:30 p.m. Feb. 24 (Friday)
Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, 2403 Flora St., Dallas
Each performance will be preceded by a 6:30 p.m. lecture by Dr. Ruth Smith of the University of Cambridge.
Cost: $12/20, tickets will go on sale Jan. 23 (Monday).
Contact: For tickets to the Feb. 23 performance in Denton, call 940-369-7802 or visit www.theMPAC.com.
For tickets to the Feb. 24 performance in Dallas, call 214-880-0202 or visit www.attpac.org.
Dallas Opera Music Director Graeme Jenkins will lead the University of North Texas' early music ensembles, faculty stars and guest artists Ava Pine and Ryland Angel in two performances of Handel's thrilling oratorio Theodora in Denton and Dallas — marking the fifth such collaboration of Handel's work since 2001.
The UNT Baroque Orchestra, Collegium Singers and A Cappella Choir will perform Theodora at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23 (Thursday) in Winspear Hall in the UNT Murchison Performing Arts Center, located along the north side of Interstate 35E at North Texas Boulevard in Denton. A repeat performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24 (Friday) at Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, 2403 Flora St. in Dallas. Each performance will be preceded by a 6:30 p.m. lecture by Dr. Ruth Smith of the University of Cambridge.
Tickets are $12 and $20 and will go on sale Jan. 23 (Monday). For tickets to the Feb. 23 performance in Denton, call 940-369-7802 or visit www.theMPAC.com. For tickets to the Feb. 24 performance in Dallas, call 214-880-0202 or visit www.attpac.org.
"The recurring Handel oratorio collaboration between Graeme Jenkins and our nationally recognized Early Music Program has produced some of our finest performances over the years," said James C. Scott, dean of the UNT College of Music. "We are thrilled that the performances of the work reputed to be Handel's favorite among his oratorios are being presented in the two venues in the DFW area named for the philanthropists Margot and Bill Winspear. This will be the first UNT performance in the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, and we look forward to the possibilities of that venue as well as our own Winspear Hall in the Murchison Performing Arts Center. These performances also mark the first Handel collaboration to include our internationally celebrated new leadership in our Early Music Program — Paul Leenhouts and Christoph Hammer."
Handel's second-to-last oratorio centers around Christian martyr Theodora, imprisoned for refusing to worship Roman gods. Roman officer Didymus, in love with Theodora, switches places with her to help her escape, but she turns herself in to cruel ruler Valens in an attempt to save Didymus.
With one of the largest early music programs in the United States, UNT will present Theodora on replicas of period instruments with singers specially trained in the style of early music. Pine, soprano, stars as Theodora, and Angel, countertenor, performs the role of Didymus, with faculty members Richard Croft, tenor, as Septimius; Jeffrey Snider, baritone, as Valens; and Jennifer Lane, mezzosoprano, as Irene. The role of the Messenger will be shared by Chris Macrae and Kyle Jones.
UNT's collaborations with Jenkins to present Handel's oratorios started with a performance of Israel in Egypt in 2001, followed by Jephtha in 2004, Samson in 2006 and Saul in 2009.
Theodora is made possible by the UNT Fine Arts Series, the AT&T Performing Arts Center, the Dallas Opera and an underwriting gift from Don and Ellen Winspear.
About the UNT Early Music Program
UNT's Early Music Program ranks as one of the largest in the country and has more than 250 period instruments representing the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
The collaboration between Dallas Opera Music Director Graeme Jenkins and the UNT program to present Handel's oratorios has been featured in Early Music America, the publication of the premier North American early music organization.
The UNT Baroque Orchestra and Collegium Singers have performed several times at the Boston Early Music Festival, the foremost gathering of its kind in North America. In 2008, the UNT Baroque Orchestra was invited to perform at the biennial international Misiones de Chiquitos festival in Bolivia, making it the first student-based group from the United States to perform at the festival since it began in 1996.
Download an image of Graeme Jenkins, music director of the Dallas Opera, leading UNT ensembles in a collaboration between Jenkins and the UNT Early Music Program: http://web3.unt.edu/news/image.cfm?image=595.