Welcome to the June 2025 Boston Early Music Festival, North America's premier celebration of Early Music.

Schedule of events for Sunday June 8, 2025:

PRE-OPERA TALKS:
PRE-OPERA TALKS will precede all four performances of Keiser's Octavia, offering audience members fascinating insights into Reinhard Keiser's life and work. Each will take place at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre at the following times:

The Power of Love and the Love of Power; presented by Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors; Gilbert Blin, Stage Director; Robert Mealy, Orchestra Director; and Hubert Hazebroucq, Choreographer.

OPENING FANFARE Keiser's Octavia:
Members of the BEMF Orchestra
Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre

CENTERPIECE OPERA, Keiser's Octavia:
The virtuous Empress Octavia is betrayed by her increasingly erratic husband, Nero, putting all of Rome on the brink of rebellion.
Written for the famed Hamburg Opera in 1705, Keiser's monumental work brings lavish spectacle and brilliant orchestration to a nuanced tale of the corruption of power and the resilience of love. A fantastical parade of philosophers, clowns, ghosts, and despots comes alive on the stage as the noble Octavia struggles to survive the turmoil and cruelty around her.

Tiridates, the King of Armenia, has come to Rome to pledge his allegiance to the Empire. Emperor Nero officially restores the king to his throne while growing infatuated with Tiridates' wife, Ormœna, much to the dismay of Empress Octavia. Tensions rise as the Roman citizens grow restless over Nero's lavish attempts to court the Armenian Queen and rid himself of his own bride. As Rome breaks out in open rebellion, Octavia must find a way to persevere amidst the chaos.

GRAMMY-winning Musical Directors Paul O'Dette & Stephen Stubbs and acclaimed Stage Director Gilbert Blin lead an all-new production replete with opulent stagecraft and impeccable musicianship. Breathtaking sets, sumptuous, period-inspired costumes, exquisite Baroque dance, and beautifully evocative music combine in an operatic feast sure to delight.

Schedule of events for Monday June 9, 2025:
ACRONYM, 5pm:

Amor Temporalia: Music of Bertali, Schmelzer, Valentini, and others
Returning for their fourth consecutive Festival, the always-engaging instrumentalists of ACRONYM open our week of Festival Concerts with music that testifies to a rare taste for extravagance and novelty. The Holy Roman Empire, until its dramatic defeat by Napoleon, represented one of the greatest consolidations of power and wealth in the history of Europe. For nearly a millennium, the Empire's purse funded some of the most lavish (and strangest!) art, architecture, and music available across Europe, expressions both of its love of—and its grip on—temporal power. This selection of works commissioned by (or dedicated to) the Empire's nobility offers a soundscape to the machinations of Empire and a 17th-century expression of amor temporalia.

The Tallis Scholars | Peter Phillips, Director
with The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, 8pm:

Jubilate! Music of Lassus, Palestrina, Gombert, Andrea Gabrieli, and Giovanni Gabrieli
Don't miss a blockbuster collaboration between two of Early Music's most celebrated ensembles. Director Peter Phillips has planned a program of music which celebrates the 500th anniversary of Palestrina's birth, as well as honoring his friendly artistic relations with two of his greatest contemporaries, Orlandus Lassus and Nicolas Gombert. It's not always clear whether sacred music was accompanied in 16th-century worship, but Lassus had spent time in one of the more likely places to hear voices with instruments: Venice. The distinguished instrumentalists of The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble join the singers of The Tallis Scholars for celebratory bookends by Lassus and his younger colleague Giovanni Gabrieli.

Aaron Sheehan, tenor & Paul O'Dette, lute & theorbo, 10:30pm:

The Excellency of Wine: Songs by Dowland, Guédron, Moulinié, and Henry Lawes
Celebrate love, laughter, and drinking in an intimate and invigorating recital of lute songs featuring GRAMMY winners Aaron Sheehan and Paul O'Dette. Henry Lawes's song The Excellency of Wine praises the libation that "quenches love's fires' and "teaches fools how to rule a State.' Indulge in repertoire of positively breathtaking beauty for voice and lute from two world-renowned performers.

Schedule of events for Tuesday June 10, 2025:

CONCERT, Ensemble Castor with Sherezade Panthaki, 5:00pm:

Inspiring Genius – Precious Friendships: Music of Keiser, Handel, Bach, and Telemann
Stunning soprano Sherezade Panthaki joins forces with the dynamic violin virtuoso Rodolfo Richter and the outstanding Austrian chamber orchestra Ensemble Castor. They offer a program brimming with expressive theatricality featuring arias and instrumental music written for the stage from Handel's Almira and Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno to Keiser's Croesus and Theatralische Musik and Telemann's Orpheus and Miriways. As a special treat, the ensemble will also present Handel's early Sonata a 5 and Bach's moving Concerto for Two Violins in D minor.

CONCERT, The Boston Camerata, 8:00pm:

A Gallery of Kings: Uses and Abuses of Power, ca. 1300
Celebrating their 70th-anniversary season, The Boston Camerata remains one of the world's most celebrated Early Music ensembles. Artistic Director Anne Azéma leads a production first performed to honor the 800th anniversary of the Reims Cathedral. Songs and stories of powerful Kings, both good and bad, abound in the Middle Ages. While the crowd sings "May he reign forever,' the monarch's power is limited: by his fallible judgement, his formidable adversaries, his love of power, and his own precarious mortality. These ancient songs of kingship and its snares in Latin, German, Galician, Old English, and Old French resonate strongly down the centuries, into our own, turbulent time.

CONCERT, Pacific Musicworks, 10:30pm:

Murder, Mayhem, Melancholy, and Madness: Music of Dowland, William Lawes, Purcell, and others
GRAMMY winner Stephen Stubbs brings Pacific MusicWorks to Boston for their BEMF début in a musical journey into the atmosphere and aftermath of the English Civil War. The years leading up to the start of the war in 1642 were full of riotous discord, reflected in the popular "Broadside Ballads.' At the same moment, William Lawes, the greatest English musical genius between Dowland and Purcell, was producing vocal and instrumental music of unparalleled beauty. Lawes would lose his life in battle, but his musical legacy achieved the perfect balance of emotion, words, and music. Sensational soprano Danielle Reutter-Harrah joins the ensemble for a fascinating program that sheds insight into this turbulent period.

Schedule of events for Wednesday June 11, 2025:

SYMPOSIUM: Global Early Musics, 9:30 - 10:30am

As Early Music America (EMA) celebrates its 40th year of supporting the development of the Early Music community in the U.S. and abroad, and as the Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) celebrates its 23rd biennial gathering for the field of Early Music, we find it relevant now, more than ever, to expand the definition and the scope of our art to include historical traditions and practices from around the world. Join us in this conversation where we will discuss our vision for the future of the field. Moderator: David McCormick, EMA Executive Director; Panelists: Kiya Tabbassian, Constantinople; Antonio M. Gómez, Trio Guadalevín, Immediate Past President of Western Arts Alliance; and Agathe Créac'h, Secretary General, REMA – European Early Music Network.

Exhibition, 10:00am - 5:00pm

The heart of the Boston Early Music Festival is our world-famous Exhibition. As the premier early music trade show in North America and among the largest in the world, the BEMF Exhibition features Early Music tradespeople from across the globe, with makers of period instruments, music publishers, dealers in rare books, prints, and manuscripts, and representatives from the world's leading conservatories and schools of music. The Exhibition is visited daily by hundreds of amateur and professional musicians, students, scholars, and enthusiasts from around the world seeking to purchase instruments, restock their libraries, renew old friendships, and immerse themselves in an unparalleled opportunity for enrichment and discovery.

With an inviting new venue – the Huntington Ballroom and Foyer at the Colonnade Hotel – only blocks from New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall where most of the evening concert take place, the 2025 BEMF Exhibition is sure to be a hub of activity. Nearby restaurants, cafés and fringe venues make this Back Bay location the perfect new home for the BEMF Exhibition.

Registration for the 2025 BEMF Exhibition is now open! Download a registration form below or contact Exhibition Manager Elizabeth Hardy at [email protected] for more information.

FREE CONCERT, Early Music America's Emerging Artists Showcase Concert, 11:00 - 12:30pm:

Artists of any age—who have not otherwise performed regularly in major festivals or concert series—can apply to EMA's Emerging Artists program. Presenting the rising stars of early music and historical performance since 2018, winners have been presented at Early Music festivals in Berkeley, CA, Bloomington, IN, and Boston, MA, and virtually through EMA's digital platforms. In 2023, the Showcase became a central element of the annual EMA Summit. This very special free concert will include four performances by recent Showcase laureates, including Duo CPE, The Fooles, Maryse Legault, and Marie Nadeau-Tremblay.

MASTERCLASS, Kola Owolabi, organ, 2:30 - 4:30pm:

First Lutheran Church of Boston

CONCERT, The Tallis Scholars, 5:00pm:

Inspired by the Sistine Chapel: Music of Palestrina, Allegri, Morales, and others
The legendary voices of The Tallis Scholars with Director Peter Phillips bring us a program inspired by the Sistine Chapel and the extraordinary Renaissance composers who wrote music to be sung in services there. The Choir of the Sistine Chapel served as the personal choir of the Pope and was at the center of the Vatican’s musical life. The musicians appointed as its singers came from across Europe; they were also expected to write music, with thrilling results. Prepare to be transported by music of timeless and transcendent beauty, from Allegri’s beloved Miserere, written for the Chapel’s exclusive use during Holy Week, to mass movements by Palestrina and motets by Morales, Josquin, and Festa.

PRE-OPERA TALK, 5:30pm:

PRE-OPERA TALKS will precede all four performances of Keiser's Octavia, offering audience members fascinating insights into Reinhard Keiser's life and work. Each will take place at the Emerson Cutler Majestic

The Power of Love and the Love of Power; presented by Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors

OPENING FANFARE, Keiser's Octavia, 6:40pm:

Members of the BEMF Orchestra, Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre

CENTERPIECE OPERA, Keiser's Octavia, 7:00pm:

The virtuous Empress Octavia is betrayed by her increasingly erratic husband, Nero, putting all of Rome on the brink of rebellion.
Written for the famed Hamburg Opera in 1705, Keiser's monumental work brings lavish spectacle and brilliant orchestration to a nuanced tale of the corruption of power and the resilience of love. A fantastical parade of philosophers, clowns, ghosts, and despots comes alive on the stage as the noble Octavia struggles to survive the turmoil and cruelty around her.

Tiridates, the King of Armenia, has come to Rome to pledge his allegiance to the Empire. Emperor Nero officially restores the king to his throne while growing infatuated with Tiridates' wife, Ormœna, much to the dismay of Empress Octavia. Tensions rise as the Roman citizens grow restless over Nero's lavish attempts to court the Armenian Queen and rid himself of his own bride. As Rome breaks out in open rebellion, Octavia must find a way to persevere amidst the chaos.

GRAMMY-winning Musical Directors Paul O'Dette & Stephen Stubbs and acclaimed Stage Director Gilbert Blin lead an all-new production replete with opulent stagecraft and impeccable musicianship. Breathtaking sets, sumptuous, period-inspired costumes, exquisite Baroque dance, and beautifully evocative music combine in an operatic feast sure to delight.

CONCERT, Trio Mediæval with Catalina Vicens, 8:00pm:

Love abounds in everything: Music of Hildegard von Bingen and Leonel Power
The crystalline voices of Trio Mediæval have captivated audiences since the group was founded in Oslo in 1997, earning them two GRAMMY nominations and renown across the globe for performances that are both pristine and intensely immersive. They make their long-awaited return to the BEMF concert stage alongside the stunning organetto virtuoso Catalina Vicens in a program of music by Hildegard von Bingen and Leonel Power. Traverse the ancient soundscapes of these two contrasting Medieval masters, from the soaring chants of the 12th-century abbess, Hildegard, to the influential early 15th-century English polyphony by Power.

CONCERT, The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, 10:30pm:

Love without Words—Music of the Song of Songs: Music of Palestrina, Victoria, Grandi, Giovanni Gabrieli, and Merulo
Now in their 32nd year, the exceptional musicians of The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble make their much-anticipated BEMF début at the 2025 Festival. In addition to regular recitals, these Gramophone Award–winning performers are in high demand for collaborations with such powerhouse vocal groups as I Fagiolini, The Tallis Scholars, Alamire, and many others. Enjoy a program of music perfectly suited to the unique sounds of cornetts and sackbuts with the sensuous love poetry of the Song of Songs in settings by Palestrina, Victoria, and Grandi alongside instrumental canzonas and sonatas by Giovanni Gabrieli and Merulo.

Schedule of events for Thursday June 12, 2025:

ORGAN MINI-FESTIVAL, Part First, 9:00am:

The First Lutheran Church:

The Voice of the Organ: Manifestations of Power and Love:
Professor of Organ at the University of Notre Dame, Kola Owolabi has performed throughout the United States and Europe and has released three solo recordings. He makes his BEMF début in a program celebrating both the power of music, and the pipe organ as the voice of that power: from Lutheran hymns that refer both to God’s power and his love, to themes of unrequited love in Peter Philips’s Le rossignuol, his setting of a Lassus chanson, to the tremendous power a composer like Handel held over those who performed under his direction.

DANCE WORKSHOP, Emmanuel Church Music Room, 15 Newbury Street, 9:30am - 11:00am:
Raise and lower the nimble foot, set the body with ease and grace (Octavia, Act I, Scene 14)
Enjoy two dance workshops with BEMF Dance Director, Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière. Session One will explore a minuet, “Entrée of Cupid and Zephyr,” from Octavia, Act III. Discover how this most famous court dance, the minuet, can also be a theatrical dance. Session Two will celebrate the 300th anniversary of Pierre Rameau’s Le Maître à danser, one of the key sources for understanding 18th-century dance. Participants of all levels are welcome. Please bring low-heeled, soft shoes and wear comfortable clothing. Admission to each session is included with an 2025 Exhibition Pass ($10), but participation is limited to the first 50 attendees.

Exhibition, The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 10:am - 5:00pm:

The heart of the Boston Early Music Festival is our world-famous Exhibition. As the premier early music trade show in North America and among the largest in the world, the BEMF Exhibition features Early Music tradespeople from across the globe, with makers of period instruments, music publishers, dealers in rare books, prints, and manuscripts, and representatives from the world’s leading conservatories and schools of music. The Exhibition is visited daily by hundreds of amateur and professional musicians, students, scholars, and enthusiasts from around the world seeking to purchase instruments, restock their libraries, renew old friendships, and immerse themselves in an unparalleled opportunity for enrichment and discovery.

With an inviting new venue – the Huntington Ballroom and Foyer at the Colonnade Hotel – only blocks from New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall where most of the evening concert take place, the 2025 BEMF Exhibition is sure to be a hub of activity. Nearby restaurants, cafés and fringe venues make this Back Bay location the perfect new home for the BEMF Exhibition.

Registration for the 2025 BEMF Exhibition is now open! Download a registration form below or contact Exhibition Manager Elizabeth Hardy at [email protected] for more information.

MASTERCLASS, Maxine Eilander, 11:am - 1:00pm:

Baroque Harp, Colonnade East Room, The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Avenue

MASTERCLASS, Maxine Eilander, BEMF Dance Director, Emmanuel Church Parish Hall, 15 Newbury Street, 11:30am - 1:00pm:

Raise and lower the nimble foot, set the body with ease and grace (Octavia, Act I, Scene 14)
Enjoy two dance workshops with BEMF Dance Director, Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière. Session One will explore a minuet, “Entrée of Cupid and Zephyr,” from Octavia, Act III. Discover how this most famous court dance, the minuet, can also be a theatrical dance. Session Two will celebrate the 300th anniversary of Pierre Rameau’s Le Maître à danser, one of the key sources for understanding 18th-century dance. Participants of all levels are welcome. Please bring low-heeled, soft shoes and wear comfortable clothing. Admission to each session is included with an 2025 Exhibition Pass ($10), but participation is limited to the first 50 attendees.

ORGAN MINI-FESTIVAL, Part Second, The First Lutheran Church of Boston, 299 Berkeley Street, 11:30am:

The magnificent Richards, Fowkes & Co. Opus 10 organ, Riches d’amour:

The 14th century saw the organ rise as a powerful symbol of the Catholic Church, embodying both its authority and its divine message. The portative organ, a more portable version of the instrument, played a significant role in spreading the Church’s influence beyond its walls. With its ability to accompany both sacred liturgies and secular celebrations, it reflected the organ’s dual nature: a divine instrument of power and an instrument of joy. Catalina Vicens combines a vibrant international career as a soloist and researcher. She is joined by the voices of Trio Mediæval in a program that explores the dual role of the organ with selections from the Rossi and Las Huelgas Codices, Philippe de Vitry, Guillaume de Machaut, and Francesco Landini.

LECTURE, Alexander McCargar, Designing for Handel and Keiser: Johann Oswald Harms
Colonnade East Room, The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Avenue, 2:00pm - 3:00pm:

This talk—by Alexander McCargar, Set Designer for Keiser’s Octavia and a scenographer and art historian currently completing his doctorate at the University of Vienna, Department of Theatre, Film and Media Studies—aims to shed light on Johann Oswald Harms, stage designer for the Hamburg Opera starting in 1695. Harms was responsible for visually bringing to life Handel’s first operas and most of Keiser’s. An exploration of Harms’s drawings can help us to reconstruct these works and to understand what audiences saw when they heard Handel’s and Keiser’s music. For BEMF’s historically informed 2025 Centerpiece opera, Octavia, Harms’s work was instrumental for understanding the German Baroque stage.

ORGAN MINI-FESTIVAL, Part Three, The First Lutheran Church of Boston, 299 Berkeley Street, 2:00pm:

Fowkes & Co. Opus 10 organ:

Reflection and Transformation: Struggles in Power and Love
College Organist for Wellesley College, Erica Johnson has enjoyed a distinguished career as a church musician, performer, and instructor of the organ. For her BEMF début, she explores a programmatic reflection of power and love for the organ. From a biblical reordering of power, to the reform of corruption, and the scorn of love, the keyboard repertoire of the 16th to 18th centuries mirrors the struggles of a hierarchical society. The expressive power of this music is reflected not only in the subject matter but also in the rich tapestry of keyboard figuration.

PRE-CONCERT TALK, 4:00pm:

NEC’s Williams Hall
PRE-CONCERT TALK: Enrico Gatti, violin, Marcello Gatti, flute & Friend they made the ears of the court and the city unusually attentive. Telemann’s so-called Paris Quartets; presented by Dr. Carsten Lange, Director, Center for Telemann Research Magdeburg.

CONCERT, Enrico Gatti, violin, Marcello Gatti, flute &  Friends
Flatteusement, Vivement & Tendrement, 5:00pm:

Flatteusement, Vivement & Tendrement: The power of love and affection in Paris
Italian brothers Enrico and Marcello Gatti have each distinguished themselves among the world’s finest virtuosos performing alongside Early Music’s leading ensembles and at major festivals across their respective careers. Join them for an intimate program featuring works from Telemann’s celebrated Paris Quartets. The first of two collections, each comprising six works, was originally published in Hamburg before being reissued in Paris in 1736 as a prelude to the composer’s visit to the city the following year. During his stay, Telemann wrote six new quartets for the same instruments, which were published in 1738. Stylish and inventive, these masterpieces are a testament to Telemann’s brilliance and have delighted audiences for centuries with their vivacious yet intricate melodies.

CONCERT, Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, 8:00pm:

Robert Mealy, Orchestra Director
Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière & Hubert Hazebroucq, dancers
Rivers of Splendor: Handel’s & Telemann’s Water Music
New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall

Rivers of Splendor: Handel’s & Telemann’s Water Music
A highlight of every Festival, the virtuoso BEMF Orchestra led by Orchestra Director Robert Mealy offers two exuberant works full of colorful orchestrations, lively dance rhythms, and regal fanfares. Handel’s Water Music is a collection of three orchestral suites overflowing with vibrant flamboyance that were first performed in spectacular fashion for King George I as he floated up the River Thames. The king was so pleased that he had them repeated several times! Telemann’s own aquatic suite (properly titled Hamburger Ebb’ und Fluth) was written to honor the centenary of the Hamburg admiralty in 1723, and reflects its maritime theme with evocative depictions of various oceanic deities and the “ebb and flow” of Hamburg’s tides. These two great celebrations are brought to life with choreography by special guest dancers Caroline Copeland and Hubert Hazebroucq.

CONCERT
Theotime Langlois de Swarte, violin and Justin Taylor, 10:30pm:

The Power of Love: Music of Francoeur, Couperin, Eccles, Bach, Corelli, and others
Immerse yourself in enthralling music performed with theatrical flair and graceful eloquence by two of Early Music’s most exciting young virtuosos: violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte and harpsichordist Justin Taylor. Close colleagues as founders of the ensemble Le Consort, the duo unlock a treasure trove of Baroque gems that showcase their thrilling musicality. Join them for a tour of Baroque Europe with energetic masterpieces and uncovered rarities featuring selections by two sets of brothers—François and Louis Francoeur and John and Henry Eccles—as well as Rameau, François Couperin, Bach, and Corelli.

Schedule of events for Friday June 13, 2025:

KEYBOARD MINI-FESTIVAL, First Church Boston, 66 Marlborough Street, 9:00am:

First Church Boston, Yi-Heng Yang, clavichord:

Awaken to Love:
The playing of keyboardist Yi-heng Yang has been described as "impeccabl" (BBC Music) and "superbly adep" (Gramophone). For her BEMF début, she explores the dynamic and expressive range of the clavichord in a program of galant, pre-Romantic improvisatory works by Auernhammer, C. P. E. Bach, and Haydn, which spring directly from the composers’ emotional landscapes. Paired with these are 21st-century pieces in historical keyboard style, by Neo-Baroque composers Mondry and Canzano, as well as short historical-style improvisations interspersed throughout.

Exhibition, NEW VENUE FOR 2025: The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Avenue, 10:am - 7:pm:

The heart of the Boston Early Music Festival is our world-famous Exhibition. As the premier early music trade show in North America and among the largest in the world, the BEMF Exhibition features Early Music tradespeople from across the globe, with makers of period instruments, music publishers, dealers in rare books, prints, and manuscripts, and representatives from the world’s leading conservatories and schools of music. The Exhibition is visited daily by hundreds of amateur and professional musicians, students, scholars, and enthusiasts from around the world seeking to purchase instruments, restock their libraries, renew old friendships, and immerse themselves in an unparalleled opportunity for enrichment and discovery.

With an inviting new venue – the Huntington Ballroom and Foyer at the Colonnade Hotel – only blocks from New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall where most of the evening concert take place, the 2025 BEMF Exhibition is sure to be a hub of activity. Nearby restaurants, cafés and fringe venues make this Back Bay location the perfect new home for the BEMF Exhibition.

Registration for the 2025 BEMF Exhibition is now open! Download a registration form below or contact Exhibition Manager Elizabeth Hardy at [email protected] for more information.

MASTERCLASS, Enrico Gatti, violin & Marcello Gatti, flute
Emmanuel Church Parish Hall, 15 Newbury Street: 10:00am - 12:00pm:

Emmanuel Church Music Room

KEYBOARD MINI-FESTIVAL,  Federico Ercoli, The First Lutheran Church of Boston, 299 Berkeley Street, 11:30am:

Federico Ercoli, fortepiano:
Farewell: On the Other Side of Love and Power:

Bitterness, hope, faith, and despair are just some of the ingredients that mix at the moment of farewell. Federico Ercoli, laureate of the MA Fortepiano Competition 2024, makes his BEMF début in a recital that explores fortepiano examples of this theme from the late 18th and early 19th centuries: from Dussek’s farewell to his beloved friend Clementi, through Haydn’s depiction of Christ’s farewell to earthly life, to Beethoven’s farewell to Archduke Rudolf, his powerful student and patron.

KEYBOARD MINI-FESTIVAL, Harpsichord, The First Lutheran Church of Boston, 299 Berkeley Street, 2:00pm:

Justin Taylor, harpsichord:
French Love:

After a spectacular BEMF début with Le Consort in 2024, the stunning virtuoso Justin Taylor returns for the 2025 Keyboard Mini-Festival. His program has its roots in the golden age of French harpsichord, with some of the greatest music ever composed for the instrument, by Rameau, François Couperin, d’Anglebert, and other masters. Be transported by the dazzling emotional intensity expressed by the harpsichord in this recital where all is about love!

PRE-OPERA TALK, 5:30pm:

Keiser’s Octavia: Rivalry and Recompense; presented by John H. Roberts, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley

OPENING FANFARE 6:40pm:
Keiser's Octavia, Members of the BEMF Orchestra Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre

CENTERPIECE OPERA,  Keiser's Octavia, Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, 7:00pm

he virtuous Empress Octavia is betrayed by her increasingly erratic husband, Nero, putting all of Rome on the brink of rebellion.
Written for the famed Hamburg Opera in 1705, Keiser’s monumental work brings lavish spectacle and brilliant orchestration to a nuanced tale of the corruption of power and the resilience of love. A fantastical parade of philosophers, clowns, ghosts, and despots comes alive on the stage as the noble Octavia struggles to survive the turmoil and cruelty around her.

Tiridates, the King of Armenia, has come to Rome to pledge his allegiance to the Empire. Emperor Nero officially restores the king to his throne while growing infatuated with Tiridates’ wife, Ormœna, much to the dismay of Empress Octavia. Tensions rise as the Roman citizens grow restless over Nero’s lavish attempts to court the Armenian Queen and rid himself of his own bride. As Rome breaks out in open rebellion, Octavia must find a way to persevere amidst the chaos.

GRAMMY-winning Musical Directors Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs and acclaimed Stage Director Gilbert Blin lead an all-new production replete with opulent stagecraft and impeccable musicianship. Breathtaking sets, sumptuous, period-inspired costumes, exquisite Baroque dance, and beautifully evocative music combine in an operatic feast sure to delight.

CONCERT Vox Luminis, Emmanuel Church, Boston, MA, 8:00pm:

Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas: Music of Carissimi and Forster
Without Giacomo Carissimi, the oratorio might never have existed. The 17th-century Italian composer and priest was a brilliant free spirit at the time of the counter-reformation and advocated using emotional music to convert the people. His masterly oratorios smuggled the intense expression of opera into spiritual music. Lionel Meunier and Gramophone Award winners Vox Luminis explore Carissimi’s sacred oratorios with his reflections on the transience of worldly ambitions in Vanitas Vanitatum (Vanity of vanities) and the biblical stories of Jephte and Abraham et Isaac alongside Kaspar Forster's spiritual take on the vanity of vanities.

CONCERT, Concerto Romano with Luca Cervoni, tenor, 10:30pm:

Arnalta's Cafe: An Operatic Nanny Romp through 17th-Century Italy
Director Alessandro Quarta and Concerto Romano are dedicated to bringing their uniquely Roman perspective to timeless music of the Italian Baroque. They return to BEMF with an uproarious  showcase of the many nurses and nannies featured in 17th-century operas—all very intent on having their say. Arnalta from Monteverdi's Poppea is the master of ceremonies for a parade of irresistible comic characters (performed en travesti, as is traditional, by tenor Luca Cervoni). Beloved composers such as Monteverdi and Cavalli are juxtaposed with lesser-known masters for operatic scenes bursting with irreverent wit, fiendish mockery, surprising tenderness, and some sage advice as only the nurse can offer!

Schedule of events for Saturday June 14, 2025:

BEMF SYMPOSIUM, Boston Ballroom, The Colonnade Hotel, 10:00am - 12:30pm:
Producing and Performing Keiser’s Octavia:

An engaging conversation about the evolution of BEMF’s North American premiere production of Reinhard Keiser’s Octavia, Ellen T. Harris, Class of 1949 Professor Emeritus, MIT, moderates a panel of specialists—including John H. Roberts, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley; Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors; Gilbert Blin, Stage Director; Robert Mealy, Orchestra Director; Hubert Hazebroucq, Choreographer; Anna Kjellsdotter, Costume Designer; and Alexander McCargar, Set Designer—as they explore the meticulous research that has been undertaken to bring this operatic masterpiece to the stage.

Exhibition, NEW VENUE FOR 2025: The Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Avenue, 10:00am - 5:00pm:

The heart of the Boston Early Music Festival is our world-famous Exhibition. As the premier early music trade show in North America and among the largest in the world, the BEMF Exhibition features Early Music tradespeople from across the globe, with makers of period instruments, music publishers, dealers in rare books, prints, and manuscripts, and representatives from the world’s leading conservatories and schools of music. The Exhibition is visited daily by hundreds of amateur and professional musicians, students, scholars, and enthusiasts from around the world seeking to purchase instruments, restock their libraries, renew old friendships, and immerse themselves in an unparalleled opportunity for enrichment and discovery.

With an inviting new venue – the Huntington Ballroom and Foyer at the Colonnade Hotel – only blocks from New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall where most of the evening concert take place, the 2025 BEMF Exhibition is sure to be a hub of activity. Nearby restaurants, cafés and fringe venues make this Back Bay location the perfect new home for the BEMF Exhibition.

Registration for the 2025 BEMF Exhibition is now open! Download a registration form below or contact Exhibition Manager Elizabeth Hardy at [email protected] for more information.

FAMILY DAY, Boston Ballroom, The Colonnade Hotel, 1:00PM - 3:00PM:

Participate in fun-filled Early Music activities for all ages, followed by a scavenger hunt at the world-famous BEMF Exhibition. Find old and unusual instruments and meet the people who make them—with special prizes and treats for all!

MASTERCLASS, 1:30 - 4:30PM:

Boreas Quartett Bremen, recorder solos and consorts
New England Conservatory’s Williams Hall, 30 Gainsborough Street

MASTERCLASS, 1:30 - 4:30:
Emma Kirkby, Paul O’Dette, and Stephen Stubbs: 17th-century accompanied solo song
New England Conservatory’s Burnes Hall, 255 St. Botolph Street


FILM, Boston Ballroom, The Colonnade Hotel, 2:30 - 3:30pm:

The Making of BEMF’s Circé: A Documentary Film:
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Saturday, June 14, two showings at 2:30pm & 3:30pm
Boston Ballroom, The Colonnade Hotel
The Making of BEMF’s Circé: A Documentary Film
The centerpiece of the June 2023 Boston Early Music Festival—A Celebration of Women—was the North American premiere of Henry Desmarest’s 1694 opera, Circé. First performed in 1694 at the Paris Opera, Desmarest’s Circé features a libretto by renowned poet Louise-Geneviève Gillot de Saintonge.

Recapture the glories of our extraordinary Circé journey in this documentary film by BEMF videographer Kathy Wittman, containing footage from the recording studio in Bremen, Germany, interviews with participating BEMF directors, designers, and artists, excerpts from the rehearsal studio as we prepared for our fully staged performances, and footage from the live production! Be captivated, once again, as we relive this epic adventure from Homer’s Odyssey and bring back to life our critically acclaimed performances complete with period-inspired costumes, elegant Baroque dance, magnificent sets, and utterly gorgeous music.

Schedule of events for Sunday June 15, 2025:

FREE YOUTH CONCERT, New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough Street, 10:00am:

BEMF Youth Ensemble, Julia McKenzie, director, BEMF Beyond Borders, Nina Stern and Cléa Galhano, directors, and A String Fort Smith, Lori Fay, director

CONCERT, Boreas Quartett Bremen, 12:30pm:

Shakespeare in Love
The Festival Concert Week comes to a glorious conclusion with the return of Boreas Quartett Bremen alongside guest artist and BEMF Orchestra member Kathryn Montoya. Performing on their 14-part Renaissance consort, these exceptional artists have created a beautiful program exploring the many stages of love in William Shakespeare’s works. They will present vivid masterpieces by Dowland, Tye, Palestrina, Byrd, and many others, interspersed with readings of Shakespeare’s timeless sonnets and soliloquies by actor Caleb Mayo.

PRE-OPERA TALK, 2:00pm:

Keiser’s Octavia: Rivalry and Recompense; presented by John H. Roberts, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley

OPENING FANFARE, Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, 3:10pm
Keiser's Octavia Members of the BEMF Orchestra

ENTERPIECE OPERA, Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, 3:30pm:

The virtuous Empress Octavia is betrayed by her increasingly erratic husband, Nero, putting all of Rome on the brink of rebellion.
Written for the famed Hamburg Opera in 1705, Keiser’s monumental work brings lavish spectacle and brilliant orchestration to a nuanced tale of the corruption of power and the resilience of love. A fantastical parade of philosophers, clowns, ghosts, and despots comes alive on the stage as the noble Octavia struggles to survive the turmoil and cruelty around her.

Tiridates, the King of Armenia, has come to Rome to pledge his allegiance to the Empire. Emperor Nero officially restores the king to his throne while growing infatuated with Tiridates’ wife, Ormœna, much to the dismay of Empress Octavia. Tensions rise as the Roman citizens grow restless over Nero’s lavish attempts to court the Armenian Queen and rid himself of his own bride. As Rome breaks out in open rebellion, Octavia must find a way to persevere amidst the chaos.

GRAMMY-winning Musical Directors Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs and acclaimed Stage Director Gilbert Blin lead an all-new production replete with opulent stagecraft and impeccable musicianship. Breathtaking sets, sumptuous, period-inspired costumes, exquisite Baroque dance, and beautifully evocative music combine in an operatic feast sure to delight.

CONCERT, ExtravaGamba, NEC's Jordan Hall, Boston, MA 5:00pm:

From Byrd to Purcell and Beyond: Music for 2 to 16 viols
With musicians drawn from the BEMF Orchestra and Festival artists over the years, the BEMF Viol Collective, led by Christel  Thielmann, presents a richly varied program of musical gems guaranteed to touch the heart. Luxuriate in the lush timbres of the viol in beloved selections from the English viol consort repertoire: from noble pavans and lively dances to tuneful ballads with fanciful variations, soulful In nomines to whimsical fantasias, and playful dialogues to haunting harmonies—plus some festive polychoral pieces from across the Alps to top off this sonorous feast!

Schedule of events for Friday June 27, 2025:

PRE-OPERA TALK, BEMF Orchestra, 12:00 - 7:00pm:

The Water Music: On It or In It?; presented by Ellen T. Harris, Class of 1949 Professor Emeritus, MIT

CHAMBER OPERA, Telemann's Pimpinone and Ino
New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough Street, 8:00pm:

Explore the depth of Telemann’s genius with a fascinating pairing of stylish slapstick and scintillating drama for an evening of show-stopping virtuosity!
Inspired by the Italian comic intermezzi, Pimpinone approaches social class and seduction with stylish slapstick and evocative humanity as the narcissistic Pimpinone is stung by the beauty and barbs of his charming chambermaid, Vespetta. The cantata Ino is a true hidden gem with a thrilling story drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Written late in Telemann’s life, this miniature masterpiece is a bridge between the Baroque and Classical eras, full of dynamic theatrics and gorgeous music

Originally presented in November 2021, Musical Directors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs alongside Stage Directors Gilbert Blin and Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière lead three of BEMF’s favorite singers and the all-star BEMF Chamber Ensemble in this engaging double bill. Starring in Pimpinone will be stellar soprano Danielle Reutter-Harrah as Vespetta alongside thrilling baritone Christian Immler in the title role, while Ino will feature celebrated soprano Amanda Forsythe. Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière will also appear as a dancer in the production.


Schedule of events for Saturday June 28, 2025:

PRE-OPERA TALK, 2:00pm:

Members of the Pimpinone and Ino Directorial Team
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA

CHAMBER OPERA, Telemann's Pimpinone and Ino
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA, 3:00pm:

Explore the depth of Telemann’s genius with a fascinating pairing of stylish slapstick and scintillating drama for an evening of show-stopping virtuosity!
Inspired by the Italian comic intermezzi, Pimpinone approaches social class and seduction with stylish slapstick and evocative humanity as the narcissistic Pimpinone is stung by the beauty and barbs of his charming chambermaid, Vespetta. The cantata Ino is a true hidden gem with a thrilling story drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Written late in Telemann’s life, this miniature masterpiece is a bridge between the Baroque and Classical eras, full of dynamic theatrics and gorgeous music

Originally presented in November 2021, Musical Directors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs alongside Stage Directors Gilbert Blin and Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière lead three of BEMF’s favorite singers and the all-star BEMF Chamber Ensemble in this engaging double bill. Starring in Pimpinone will be stellar soprano Danielle Reutter-Harrah as Vespetta alongside thrilling baritone Christian Immler in the title role, while Ino will feature celebrated soprano Amanda Forsythe. Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière will also appear as a dancer in the production.

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Schedule of events for Sunday June 29, 2025:

PRE-OPERA TALK, 3:00pm:

Members of the Pimpinone and Ino Directorial Team
Venetian Theater, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Katonah, NY

CHAMBER OPERA, 4:00pm:
Telemann's Pimpinone and Ino, Venetian Theater, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Katonah, NY

The Boston Early Music Festival revives their acclaimed pairing of Telemann works in this fully staged production. Inspired by the Italian comic intermezzi, Pimpinone approaches social class and seduction with stylish slapstick and evocative humanity as the narcissistic Pimpinone is stung by the beauty and barbs of his charming chambermaid, Vespetta. The cantata Ino is a true hidden gem with a thrilling story drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.  

Boston Early Music Festival
Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors
Gilbert Blin & Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière, Stage Directors
Amanda Forsythe, Ino
Danielle Reutter-Harrah, Vespetta
Christian Immler, Pimpinone

Click here to buy tickets

Date: June 8-15 and 27-29, 2025

Location: Various Venue in Cambridge

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