Bach: St. Matthew Passion
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists
Masaaki Suzuki - Conductor
Wednesday, February 17, 2027 at 7:00 PM
Matthews Theatre
Run Time: Approximately 3 hours including one 20-minute intermission
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For over 60 years, the Monteverdi Choir has been recognized as one of the world’s leading and most influential ensembles, known for its exceptional technique and historically informed performances that bring freshness, immediacy, and drama to the stage.
The Choir was named ‘Best Choir’ at the 2024 Oper! Awards and continues to captivate audiences worldwide through concerts, tours, and recordings of extraordinary quality.
Recent and upcoming highlights include performances of Bach’s St John Passion and Mass in B minor, an immersive staging of Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas, and tours featuring Handel’s Theodora. The ensemble continues to collaborate with leading conductors and perform at major international festivals.
Founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, the Monteverdi Choir has released more than 150 recordings and received numerous accolades, maintaining its reputation for artistic excellence and innovation.
Conductor Masaaki Suzuki is widely regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of Johann Sebastian Bach. Founder and Music Director of Bach Collegium Japan, he is celebrated for his landmark recordings and performances of Bach’s sacred works, admired for their clarity, depth, and expressive insight.
The English Baroque Soloists is a leading period-instrument ensemble and long-standing artistic partner of the Monteverdi Choir, recognized for its distinctive sound and historically informed performances spanning music from Monteverdi to Mozart.
Soloists:
Tenor 1 (Evangelist): Nick Pritchard
Bass 1 (Christus): Florian Störtz
Sop 1: Carolyn Sampson
Sop 2: Jone Martínez
Alto 1: Alexander Chance
Alto 2: Matthias Dähling
Tenor 2 : Hugo Hymas
Bass 2: Timothy Edlin
Notes on The St. Matthew Passion
The St Matthew Passion had its premiere in Leipzig 300 years ago in 1727 and remains the pinnacle of the vocal works that Bach composed during his Leipzig years. It has long been considered by many to be the greatest and challenging single choral work in the choral repertoire by Bach or any other composer in both its literary and musical respects, which is why every chance to hear it becomes an occasion not to be missed. This is as close to an opera that Bach ever came, a work of unforgettable images that is both a prayer and a meditation in which the story of Christ's Passion exceeded in its dimensions anything in the church music of Bach's day— and indeed, in ours as well (including Handel's Messiah) .Its story is told not simply as a narrative but depicted with a directness that allows us to experience it first hand and feel for ourselves the emotions that the work describes.
-Bill Lockwood, McCarter’s Former Director of Special Programming
“They are truly one of the finest choirs of their time.”