Co-directors: Julianne Baird and Grant Herreid
Northampton Community College
3538 Green Pond Rd
Bethlehem, PA 18020
United States
The 2022 Baroque Academy will be held in Bethlehem, PA at Northampton Community College August 7-14, 2022 Opera singers should plan to arrive on Saturday, August 6, and instrumentalists should be prepared to participate in a run through on Sunday afternoon, August 7.
- Pitch is A=415.
- Audition due date: April 1, 2022 for singers and May 1, 2022 for instrumentalists.
- Tuition: $675.
Baroque Academy Singers
Opera Project: The Judgement of Paris by Daniel Purcell
Edited, with a Prologue and Epilogue created by Grant Herreid and Lawrence Rosenwald.
Co-directed by Julianne Baird and Grant Herreid, with Lawrence Rosenwald, texts, and Dorothy Olsson, historical dance.
The 2022 opera project is a pastiche drawn from two different operas based on the mythological story of the Judgement of Paris : Antonio Cesti's Il pomo d'oro (The Golden Apple), and Daniel Purcell's The Judgement of Paris.
Daniel Purcell's opera, or masque, begins with Mercury descending to earth to tell the shepherd Paris that Jove has instructed him to choose which of the three goddesses, Juno, Pallas, or Venus, is the fairest. Paris voices his trepidation at such an unenviable task; the goddesses appear, each bribing Paris with gifts of power, victory in battle, and possession of the most beautiful mortal lady.
The first act of Cesti's Il pomo d'oro is a perfect intro to Purcell's work. Set in the Underworld, it features a lament by Persephone of her doleful surroundings, lively dialogue between her and her husband Pluto about why she is unhappy, and the plan of Discord to help their cause by sewing chaos into the Banquet of the Gods upon Olympus. It will be sung in English to pair well with the Purcell.
The two works shall be bridged by a ballet of Daniel Purcell's music, forming the Banquet of the Gods, into which Discord throws the magical Golden Apple that causes the strife between the goddesses that initiates the Judgement of Paris. An epilogue will address the dire and tragic consequences of the resulting Trojan War.
Perform a role in our fully staged production with Baroque orchestra and historical dance. Sessions on period acting and performance techniques. Master class and coachings. Performance Friday, August 12, 2022. Audition by April 1, 2022.
Baroque Opera Project Daily Schedule: 9:00-10:30 Master class, 11:00-12:15 staging rehearsal, 1:30-3:00 musical rehearsal, 3:30 to 5:30 tutti rehearsal with orchestra. Opera dress rehearsal: Thursday evening, August 11, after the Faculty Concert.
2022 Baroque Academy Concerts:
Baroque Academy Faculty Concert, Thursday, August 11, 7:30 p.m.
Baroque Opera Project Performance, Friday, August 12, 8:00 p.m.
Performance: Baroque Academy Student Concert 1:00 p.m. (tba)
Late evenings: salon concerts, drop-in sessions