BSR Classical Interludes, May 2026

Curtis Opera Theatre: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Thursday, April 30, 7pm
Saturday, May 2, 2pm
Kimmel Center/Perelman Theater, 300 South Broad Street

In the Perelman Theater, where every seat has a good view, Curtis Opera Theatre and the Curtis Symphony are presenting a fully staged production of this work filled with lovers, fairies, and magical transformations. Britten’s operas are not staged as often as his musical reputation might warrant, and so this work by a lover of Shakespeare is well worth seeing. Director Sarah Ina Meyers and conductor Vinay Parameswaran lead this cast and company of young musicians.

Ravensong: Goldberg in Istanbul
Friday, May 1, 7pm
St. Clements Church, 2013 Appletree Street

Closing its season, Ravensong presents Turkish harpsichordist and Izmir native Iklim Tamkan in her United States recital debut. The concert includes music of German Baroque composer Johann Mattheson and the ornamented French style of Jacques Duphly. But the program is centered on Fazil Say’s Goldberg in Istanbul, Op. 94, a 2024 work written for Tamkan that shines a contemporary light on both Bach and Istanbul’s musical heritage. Say and his compositions were recently featured in a segment of Scott Yoo’s PBS series Now Hear This.

Tempesta di Mare: Soundtrack of Independence Series
May 7-21
Various venues

All month long at venues throughout the city, Philadelphia’s baroque orchestra is presenting an ambitious series of concerts celebrating American independence. Some of the outings feature the Tempesta ensemble—for instance, a performance of the country’s first oratorio, America Independent or The Temple of Minerva. But the series also gathers other noted regional groups and musicians, including the Franklin Quartet; harpsichordist John Walthausen; Music of the Regiment; the Publick Pleasure; Night Music ensemble; star trumpeter (and bugler) Justin Bland; and a cadre of the region’s favorite vocalists.

Piffaro: Eagle and Empire – Music of Colonial Mexico
Friday, May 8, 7pm
Teatro/Esperanza Arts Center, 4261 North 5th Street

Saturday, May 9, 7:30pm
Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Avenue

Sunday, May 10, 3pm
Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1502 West 13th Street, Wilmington

Closing their season, Piffaro brings to life the music of colonial Mexico, a musical world where Indigenous and European traditions collided and combined to create a new soundscape. Piffaro wind players will be joined by guest singers, plucked strings, and percussion, and Friday’s performance at Teatro Esperanza features an appearance by the Aztec dancers of Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac. The concert will be presented in New York City (St. Luke in the Fields) on Tuesday, May 12, and it will also stream online from May 22 to June 4.

OperaDelaware: Andrea Chénier
Sunday, May 10, 2pm, Wednesday, May 13, and Friday, May 15, 7:30pm
Grand Opera House, 818 North Market Street, Wilmington

Closing its season, OperaDelaware stages Umberto Giordano’s verismo opera, with three of the work’s principal roles to be sung by OperaDelaware company artists Dane Suarez (Chénier), Toni Marie Palmertree (Maddalena), and Gerald Moon (Gérard). Dr. Aaron Ziegel offers two free, virtual pre-performance lectures (April 29 and May 6, 7-8pm). Conducted by Anthony Barrese and directed by Octavio Cardenas, this tale of a poet who challenges the status quo is being presented in conjunction with the annual Opera America national conference, to be hosted by the OperaDelaware and held in Wilmington May 12-15.

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