BSR Classical Interludes, more in February 2025

Liberty City Arts: Philly Voices
Friday, February 21, 7pm
Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin’s Lane, Philadelphia

Liberty City Arts is a relatively new presenter (led by Samual Keeler) that will feature an evening of new vocal compositions by five terrific Philly-based composers. Works by Melissa Dunphy, Mike Lebowitz, Kathryn Woodard, Michael Lewis, and Peter Hilliard will be sung by Amanda Staub, Madison Boyer, Audra Casbier, Marcelle McGuirk, and Dicky Dutton, with pianists Michael Lewis and Kathryn Woodard.

Lyric Fest: The Soul of the City
Saturday, February 22, 3pm
Opera Delaware/Sayre Hall, 4 South Poplar Street, Wilmington

Sunday, February 23, 3pm
First Presbyterian Church, 201 South 21st Street, Philadelphia

Billed as a “gritty but surprisingly poetic program,” this concert features singers Danielle Talamantes (soprano), Clara Osowski (mezzo-soprano, in a company debut), Aaron Crouch (tenor), Jesse Blumberg (baritone). From the piano, Laura Ward leads the program, which includes art songs (classical and contemporary) along with a world premiere, Lyric Fest’s commission The Soul of The City, four T.S. Eliot poems set by composer Nicholas White.

Academy of Vocal Arts: Così fan tutte
February 22, 25, 27, and March 1 at 7:30pm
AVA/Helen Corning Warden Theater, 1920 Spruce Street, Philadelphia

Here is one of Mozart’s dazzling comic operas presented by AVA in a staged performance conducted by Robert Kahn and directed by José Maria Condemi. The 1786 opera will be sung in Italian with English supertitles, and the libretto for this and Le nozze di Figaro (below) were both written by Lorenzo da Ponte, so you’ll have a chance to compare the words as well as the music!

Curtis Opera Theatre: Le nozze di Figaro
Thursday, February 27 and Friday, February 28, 7pm
Saturday, March 1 and Sunday, March 2, 2pm
Kimmel Center/Perelman Theater, 300 South Broad Street

This opera production of another Mozart comic gem is of the many events in Curtis’s busy centennial season. Nicholas McGegan conducts the Curtis Symphony and Marcus Shields directs the staged production of this perennial favorite, also sung in Italian with English supertitles. Two great Mozart operas within a week of one another—what could be better?

Festival Mahogany
Friday, February 28, 7pm
Saturday, March 1, 2pm (Symposium and chamber concert)
Saturday, March 1, 7pm
Sunday, March 2, 2pm
Rutgers University-Camden/Walter K. Gordon Theater, 314 Linden Street, Camden

This weekend-long music festival’s four concerts, under the direction of Marlon Daniel, feature renowned performers of color. Artists and ensembles include cellist Ifetayo Ali, soprano Karen Slack, Grammy-nominated Imani Winds, and Symphony in C. Concerts feature contemporary works by Tania León, Fred Onovwerosuoke, and James Lee III, as well as works ranging from the baroque era to the 21st century. All four of the festival’s impressive offerings are free but tickets must be reserved.

Featured image description: Cellist Ifetayo Ali-Landing performs at Festival Mahogany this month. (Photo courtesy of Rutgers University.)

Descriptive text: Ali, a Black woman, in all black with a black leather jacket, poses for a portrait next to a cello