Jonathan Stuchbery

Cristina Prats-Costa, violin Jonathan Stuchbery, lute Lucas Harris, lute Naghmeh Farahman, Persian percussion A Journey Through the Iberian Baroque A multifaceted sonic tour of old-world Spain

Gentileschi Baroque Ensemble is a dynamic period instrument ensemble dedicated to uncovering and performing the extraordinary music of women composers from the Baroque era. With a mission to bring these often-overlooked voices to the forefront, the ensemble combines scholarly insight with vibrant, historically informed performance.

This evocative program features a diverse array of composers whose music draws on sacred devotion, theatrical drama, virtuosic chamber writing, and popular dance. From the expressive sacred songs of Juan Francés de Iribarren to the dazzling guitar works of Santiago de Murcia and the haunting recercadas of Antonio Martin y Coll, this concert celebrates the rich and vibrant musical landscape of the Iberian world from the mid-sixteenth to the early eighteenth century.

Shaped by centuries of cultural exchange, this repertoire reflects a multi-ethnic and stylistically diverse heritage, where courtly refinement coexists with folk rhythms and improvisatory freedom. Grounded in dance, ornamentation, and rhetorical expression, these works reveal a sound world of striking contrasts—intimate and exuberant, devotional and theatrical.

Curated by Toronto-based Spanish violinist Cristina Prats Costa, the program offers a deeply personal journey into the colours and rhythms of Iberian Baroque music, illuminating a tradition whose expressive power and rhythmic vitality continue to resonate today.

Toronto’s Opera Atelier presents Henry Purcell’s beloved opera Dido and Aeneas, launching Chamberfest 2026 with all the splendour and flair of the Baroque. An exciting cast of Canadian singers, including Ottawa-born sopranos Meghan Lindsay and Mireille Asselin and superstar mezzo-soprano Measha Bruggergossman-Lee, are joined by a full complement of baroque dancers, Ottawa’s Caelis Academy Ensemble Choir, and a superb early music ensemble in this semi-staged production choreographed by Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg and directed by Marshall Pynkoski.

Written in the mid-1680s with text adapted from Virgil’s Aeneid, Purcell’s Dido tells the story of Dido, Queen of Carthage, and her deep love for Aeneas, the Prince of Troy. You’ll have to see it to find out how things turn out, but the opera ends with one of the Baroque era’s most iconic operatic arias, “Dido’s Lament,” which suggests that possibly not all ends well with our lovers in the paradise of antiquity…

L'histoire des amoureux Acis et Galatée racontée par quatre chanteurs solistes de grand talent et Arion Orchestre Baroque sous la direction du claveciniste Hank Knox. Un concert grandiose rendant hommage au génie de mélodiste du grand compositeur George Frideric Handel. Hélène Brunet, soprano, Philippe Gagné, ténor, Kerry Bursey, ténor, Dion Mazerolle, baryton-basse Arion Orchestre Baroque, Hank Knox, clavecin et direction