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Experience an unforgettable evening of Baroque brilliance as the renowned English Concert, led by visionary conductor Harry Bicket, takes the stage at the 28th Beijing Music Festival with a stunning performance of Handel’s Rinaldo. This masterpiece of drama and virtuosity, featuring a stellar cast of international soloists and the ensemble’s signature period-instrument precision, will transport audiences to a world of heroic valor and enchanting arias.

“The English Concert with Bicket at the helm defies anyone who still claims that Handel operas are boring.”—Opera Now

“Bicket reveals an underlying dramatic grasp of both the arc of the Handel operas and the individual situations.”—San Franciso Classical Voice 

“The English Concert and Harry Bicket, its artistic director, provide a balanced approach… making it accessible yet authentic.”—Financial Times

The English Concert

Founded in 1972 by Trevor Pinnock, The English Concert is a premier baroque orchestra celebrated for its authentic, period-instrument performances. Led by the brilliant Harry Bicket since 2007, the ensemble has captivated global audiences with its radiant sound and dynamic interpretations of Handel, Bach and others.

Renowned for their critically acclaimed opera stagings and concerts, including Rinaldo, the ensemble blends historical precision with emotional vitality. Highly lauded for their luminous sound and impeccable artistry, The English Concert will bring Handel’s masterpiece Rinaldo Concert Performance to life at the 2025 BMF with dazzling precision and emotional profundity.

Rinaldo

First performed in 1711, Handel’s Rinaldo traces the crusader knight’s epic journey through love, betrayal and heroic triumphs, set against the backdrop of sorcery and warfare. Renowned for its exquisite arias such as the unforgettable “Lascia ch’io pianga,” Handel showcases his masterful storytelling and musical brilliance.

Through a vibrant tapestry of period instruments, including delicate strings, expressive winds and dynamic continuo, Handel’s orchestration underscores the opera’s dramatic shifts and lyrical beauty. His skillful emotional characterizations weave profound pathos and heroic fervor, which are masterfully brought to life by The English Concert’s nuanced and historically informed performance.

Don’t miss the English Concert’s electrifying performance of Handel’s Rinaldo. Join us for an emotionally-captivating concert where passion and music converge in a celebration of timeless artistry that will surely be a highlight of this season’s BMF.

English Concert

The English Concert is an outstanding orchestra: exceptional, in the world-renowned quality, ambition and variety of its live and recorded output; unique, in the zeal of its players for working and performing together; unwavering, in its desire to connect with its audience throughout the world. Founded by Trevor Pinnock in 1972 and under the present artistic direction of Harry Bicket and principal guest Kristian Bezuidenhout, The English Concert has earned a reputation for combining urgency, passion and fire with precision, delicacy and beauty. Highlights of the orchestra’s calendar include an international Handel opera tour, a regular London series at venues including the Wigmore Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields and the Barbican Centre, and an annual residency at Garsington Opera.

In 2023, The English Concert launched its ambitious Handel for All project, which aims to film and make freely available all of Handel’s works online. For more information, visit englishconcert.co.uk.

Harry Bicket

Internationally-renowned as an opera and concert conductor of distinction, Harry Bicket is especially noted for his interpretations of baroque and classical repertoire. Since 2007 he has been Artistic Director of The English Concert, with whom he recently embarked on a project to film every piece of Handel to create an online resource for all.
 
Highlights of the 2024/25 season included a return to Sante Fe Opera, where Bicket is Music Director, for Le nozze di Figaro, as well as Bicket’s Opernhaus Zurich debut with Agrippina and a return to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for a collaboration with Joffrey Ballet. With The English Concert he led a tour across Europe and the United States of Giulio Cesare, alongside their regular London and European series.

Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen

Countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen brings his “astonishingly beautiful” (The Guardian) instrument to a range of repertoire spanning the Baroque to the contemporary. His recent portrayal of the title role in Sir David McVicar’s production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare at Glyndebourne was “dazzling” (ArtsDesk) and “superbly sung” (Bachtrack). He has performed with leading opera companies and orchestras around the world including Bayerische Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich, Adelaide Festival, Komische Oper Berlin, the San Francisco Opera, Ballet, and Symphony, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, and Music of the Baroque. He made his debut in the 2024/25 season with La Monnaie de Munt for the world premiere of Fanny and Alexander, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Festival de Froville, and Kennedy Center, and he returned to Deutsche Oper Berlin, Carnegie Hall and many other venues.

Mary Bevan

Praised by Opera for her “dramatic wit and vocal control,” British soprano Mary Bevan is internationally renowned in baroque, classical and contemporary repertoire, and appears regularly with leading conductors, orchestras and ensembles around the world. She is a winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist award and UK Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Young Talent in music and was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list in 2019. 

During the 2024/25 season, Bevan returned to English National Opera as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, to Opera di Roma as Morgana in Alcina, and made her debut with the Semperoper Dresden as Michal in a new Claus Guth production of Saul.

Paula Murrihy

Paula Murrihy enjoys a busy career working at the highest level in Europe and the US. She has appeared on the world’s major stages including Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera, Opéra de Paris, Bolshoi Theatre, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Zurich Opera and Salzburg Festival. Her 2024/25 season highlights included Dejanira in Hercules at Oper Frankfurt, Waitress in Innocence at Semperoper Dresden, Béatrice in Béatrice et Bénédict at Irish National Opera, Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos at Opéra de Rouen and the Fox in Cunning Little Vixen at Opéra de Paris. Paula tours extensively on the concert platform, particularly enjoying her regular collaboration with the English Concert.

Alexander Chance

In demand as a concert soloist, Alexander Chance has given many recitals around Europe, making his recital debut at the Wigmore Hall and Concertgebouw Amsterdam in 2024. His debut recording, Drop not, mine eyes with lutenist Toby Carr, was named one of Gramophone Magazine’s Best Albums of 2023. His recent opera roles include Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Britten) for The Grange Festival; Apollo (Death in Venice, Britten) for Welsh National Opera; and Tolomeo (Giulio Cesare, Handel) for English Touring Opera. Recent and future highlights include his debut appearance at the BBC Proms, a return to Wigmore Hall with the London Handel Players, and concerts with The English Concert and Dunedin Consort.

Ashley Riches

Bass-baritone Ashley Riches trained at King’s College, Cambridge and the Guildhall School. He was a Jette Parker Young Artist and BBC New Generation Artist.

His 2024/25 season highlights included Handel’s Messiah with John Butt, and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Bach’s St John Passion with Harry Bicket, and Puccini’s La Rondine with the LSO and Antonio Pappano. Recent roles included Roucher in Giordano’s Andrea Chénier at the Royal Opera House and performances of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Verdi’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and Purcell’s King Arthur.

An accomplished recitalist, he released his debut solo recital recording, A Musical Zoo, in 2021.

Rachael Wilson

American mezzo-soprano Rachael Wilson is a recent recipient of the honorary Bavarian Art Prize. A native from Las Vegas, Nevada, she is a graduate of the Juilliard School, and was a member of the Opera Studio at the Bayerische Staatsoper,

In the 2024/25 season, Rachael made her debut with the Komische Oper Berlin as the Alto Soloist in Damiano Michieletto’s new staging of Handel’s Messiah at the Tempelhof Airport and she also made her debut at the Staatsoper Hamburg as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni; she returned to the Glyndebourne Festival as Varvara in Katya Kabanova conducted by Robin Ticciati; Varvara is a role she also sang in Krzysztof Warlikowski’s new production at the Bayerische Staatsoper conducted by Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. On the concert stage, Rachael appeared with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, the Gävle Symphony Orchestra and made her debut at the Musikverein with the Wiener Symphoniker and Lorenzo Viotti.

Andy Shen Liu

Hailed as “a little short of sensational,” Andy Shen Liu has mesmerized audiences globally, from the stages of Lincoln Center to Royal Albert Hall. Since his debut at age 7, Liu has performed with leading orchestras and opera companies, premiering works ranging from Baroque to contemporary. His notable roles include Ernesto in Haydn’s Il Mondo della Luna and Eurindo in Stradella’s La Forza dell’amor Paterno. Liu’s performance of Twilight of Himalayas was released by Deutsche Grammophon. A graduate of Juilliard Pre-College and the Royal Academy of Music, he is committed to inspiring younger generations to embrace opera and Baroque music.

Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen     Rinaldo, countertenor

Mary Bevan                          Almirena, soprano

Paula Murrihy                       Goffredo, mezzo-soprano

Alexander Chance                Eustazio, countertenor

Ashley Riches                        Argante, bass-baritone

Rachael Wilson                      Armida, mezzo-soprano

Andy Shen Liu  Araldo/Donna/Magician,countertenor

George Frideric Handel, composer

Giacomo Rossi, librettist

Harry Bicket, harpsichord/conductor

The English Concert

The program is subject to change.

Notes:

Children under 1.2 meters in height are not allowed entry.

Children over 1.2 meters in height must enter with a valid ticket.