Handel Society of New York
Encyclopedia
The Handel Society of New York (HSNY) was a New York City
based musical organization that presented concert and semi-staged performances of opera
s and oratorio
s by George Frideric Handel
from 1966-1974. The group mainly performed out of Carnegie Hall
and was responsible for presenting the American and New York premieres of several works by Handel. The ensemble was also the first to record many of these works; releasing several LPs for RCA
and Westminster Records
.
and New York businessman and music lover James Grayson. Grayson served as the group's Executive Director throughout the company's history. The ensemble's first music director was conductor Brian Priestman
, and the group's longtime harpsichord
ist was Martin Isepp. The ensemble gave its debut performance, a semi-staged production of Xerxes
, at Carnegie Hall on 20 November 1966 with Maureen Forrester
in the title role, Maureen Lehane
as Arsamene, Janet Baker
as Amastre, Teresa Stich-Randall
as Romilda, Alpha Brawner as Atalanta, John Shirley-Quirk
as Ariodate, and Yi-Kwei Sze as Elviro. The same performers, with the additions of Regina Sarfaty
as Eduige and Charles Bressler
as Grimoaldo, were utilized the following week in semi-staged performances of Rodelinda. Both of these works were recorded on LPs for Westminster Records
.
In 1966 the HSNY made their first recording for RCA Red Seal Records
: the musical drama Hercules with Priestman conducting the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
. This was followed in 1968 with a recording of the oratorio Solomon
with Shirley-Quirk in the title role. The recording was made in Austria with the orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper
under conductor Stephen Simon. Simon was appointed the HSNY's new director in 1970, a position he remained in until the ensemble disbanded in 1974. Simon's first performance as music director was the United States premiere of Orlando
presented in a concert version on January 18, 1971 at Carnegie Hall. The production starred Rosalind Elias
in the title role with Camilla Williams
as Angelica, Betty Allen
as Medoro, Carole Bogard as Dorinda, and Justino Díaz
as Zoroastro.
Under Simon's leadership, the HSNY presented two more United State premieres at Carnegie Hall. On March 29, 1971 the ensemble performed the American premiere of Ariodante
in a concert version with mezzo-soprano Sophia Steffan in the title role and Judith Raskin
as Ginerva. In March 1972 the HSNY introduced to American audiences Handel's Rinaldo
in a concert version starring Beverly Wolff
in the title role. The HSNY presented the New York premiere of Handel's Alcina
, which had been performed only once before in the United States, under the baton of Priestman on March 25, 1974 with Cristina Deutekom
in the title role and Karan Armstrong
as Morgana.
In February 1973 Simon conducted the HSNY in their only performance of a non-Handel work, William Walton
's Belshazzar's Feast
, which was paired with an edited version of Handel's Belshazzar
. Other Handel works which Simon conducted for the HSNY were the oratorios Solomon
(1971), Athalia (1972), Judas Maccabaeus (1972), and Saul
(1973); and the opera Ezio (1973). He conducted the HSNY's last concert, a performance of Handel's Samson, on April 23, 1974 with Richard Tucker
in the title role.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
based musical organization that presented concert and semi-staged performances of opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s and oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
s by George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
from 1966-1974. The group mainly performed out of Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
and was responsible for presenting the American and New York premieres of several works by Handel. The ensemble was also the first to record many of these works; releasing several LPs for RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
and Westminster Records
Westminster Records
Westminster Records was an American classical music record label, issuing original recordings from 1949 to 1965.It was founded in 1949 by Mischa Naida, the owner of the Westminster Record shop in New York City, businessman James Grayson, and conductor Henry Swoboda...
.
History
The HSNY was founded in January 1966 by talent manager Arthur JudsonArthur Judson
Arthur Leon Judson was an artists' manager who also managed the New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra...
and New York businessman and music lover James Grayson. Grayson served as the group's Executive Director throughout the company's history. The ensemble's first music director was conductor Brian Priestman
Brian Priestman
Brian Priestman is a British conductor and music educator.Priestman studied at the University of Birmingham and the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles, Belgium....
, and the group's longtime harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
ist was Martin Isepp. The ensemble gave its debut performance, a semi-staged production of Xerxes
Serse
Serse is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was first performed in London on 15 April 1738. The Italian libretto was adapted by an unknown hand from that by Silvio Stampiglia for an earlier opera of the same name by Giovanni Bononcini in 1694...
, at Carnegie Hall on 20 November 1966 with Maureen Forrester
Maureen Forrester
Maureen Kathleen Stewart Forrester, was a Canadian operatic contralto.-Life and career:Maureen Forrester was born and grew up in a poor section of Montreal, Quebec. She was one of four children to Thomas Forrester, a Scottish cabinetmaker, and his Irish-born wife, the former May Arnold. She...
in the title role, Maureen Lehane
Maureen Lehane
Maureen Theresa Lehane Wishart was an English Mezzo-soprano singer, university lecturer and founder of the Great Elm Music Festival, Jackdaws Music Education Trust and an annual Vocal Award for young singers...
as Arsamene, Janet Baker
Janet Baker
Dame Janet Abbott Baker, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English mezzo-soprano best known as an opera, concert, and lieder singer.She was particularly closely associated with baroque and early Italian opera and the works of Benjamin Britten...
as Amastre, Teresa Stich-Randall
Teresa Stich-Randall
Teresa Stich-Randall was a European-based American soprano opera singer.-Biography:Teresa Stich-Randall was born in New Hartford, Connecticut in 1927 and studied at The Hartt School in West Hartford....
as Romilda, Alpha Brawner as Atalanta, John Shirley-Quirk
John Shirley-Quirk
John Shirley-Quirk CBE is an English bass-baritone.He was born in Liverpool, England, and sang in his high school choir. He played the violin and was awarded a scholarship. While studying chemistry and physics at Liverpool University, he studied voice with Austen Carnegie...
as Ariodate, and Yi-Kwei Sze as Elviro. The same performers, with the additions of Regina Sarfaty
Regina Sarfaty
Regina Sarfaty is an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had an active career during the 1950s through the 1980s. Sarfaty first rose to prominence through her work at the Santa Fe Opera and the New York City Opera during the late 1950s...
as Eduige and Charles Bressler
Charles Bressler
Charles Bressler was an American tenor.He was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania and studied at Juilliard. He became a founding member of the New York Pro Musica, with which he toured from 1953-1963...
as Grimoaldo, were utilized the following week in semi-staged performances of Rodelinda. Both of these works were recorded on LPs for Westminster Records
Westminster Records
Westminster Records was an American classical music record label, issuing original recordings from 1949 to 1965.It was founded in 1949 by Mischa Naida, the owner of the Westminster Record shop in New York City, businessman James Grayson, and conductor Henry Swoboda...
.
In 1966 the HSNY made their first recording for RCA Red Seal Records
RCA Red Seal Records
RCA Red Seal Records is a classical music label and is now part of Sony Masterworks.The Red Seal label was begun in 1902 by the Gramophone Company in the United Kingdom and was quickly picked up by its United States affiliate, the Victor Talking Machine Company, and its president, Eldridge R. Johnson...
: the musical drama Hercules with Priestman conducting the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
The Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra is the orchestra of the Austrian national broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk . Founded in 1969 with the name of the ORF-Symphonieorchester , it is the only radio orchestra in the country...
. This was followed in 1968 with a recording of the oratorio Solomon
Solomon (Handel)
Solomon, HWV 67, is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. Its libretto is based on the biblical stories of wise king Solomon and is attributed to Newburgh Hamilton...
with Shirley-Quirk in the title role. The recording was made in Austria with the orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper
Vienna Volksoper
The Vienna Volksoper is a major opera house in Vienna, Austria. It gives about three hundred performances of twenty-five productions during an annual season running from September through June....
under conductor Stephen Simon. Simon was appointed the HSNY's new director in 1970, a position he remained in until the ensemble disbanded in 1974. Simon's first performance as music director was the United States premiere of Orlando
Orlando (opera)
Orlando is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel written for the Royal Academy of Music . The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's L'Orlando after Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, which was also the source of Handel's operas Alcina and...
presented in a concert version on January 18, 1971 at Carnegie Hall. The production starred Rosalind Elias
Rosalind Elias
Rosalind Elias is an American mezzo-soprano, a rich-voiced singer of fine musicianship who enjoyed a long and distinguished career at the Metropolitan Opera.-Life and career:...
in the title role with Camilla Williams
Camilla Williams
Camilla Ella Williams is an American operatic soprano and the first African American to receive a contract with a major American opera company.-Biography:...
as Angelica, Betty Allen
Betty Allen
Betty Allen was a renowned American operatic mezzo-soprano who had an active international singing career during the 1950s through the 1970s...
as Medoro, Carole Bogard as Dorinda, and Justino Díaz
Justino Díaz
Justino Díaz is an internationally renowned bass-baritone opera singer. In 1963, Díaz won an annual contest held at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, becoming the "first" Puerto Rican to obtain such an honor and as a consequence, made his Metropolitan debut on October 1963 in Verdi's Rigoletto...
as Zoroastro.
Under Simon's leadership, the HSNY presented two more United State premieres at Carnegie Hall. On March 29, 1971 the ensemble performed the American premiere of Ariodante
Ariodante
Ariodante is an opera seria in three acts by Handel. The anonymous Italian libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso...
in a concert version with mezzo-soprano Sophia Steffan in the title role and Judith Raskin
Judith Raskin
Judith Raskin was an American lyric soprano, renowned for her fine voice as well as her acting.Raskin was born in New York to Harry A. Raskin, a high school music teacher, and Lillian Raskin, a grade school teacher. Her father aroused her childhood interest in music, leading her to study violin...
as Ginerva. In March 1972 the HSNY introduced to American audiences Handel's Rinaldo
Rinaldo (opera)
Rinaldo is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1711. It is the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London stage. The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario provided by Aaron Hill. The work was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in London's...
in a concert version starring Beverly Wolff
Beverly Wolff
Beverly Wolff was an American mezzo-soprano who had an active career in concerts and operas from the early 1950s to the early 1980s. She performed a broad repertoire which encompassed operatic and concert works in many languages and from a variety of musical periods...
in the title role. The HSNY presented the New York premiere of Handel's Alcina
Alcina
Alcina is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of L'isola di Alcina, an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after, during his travels in Italy...
, which had been performed only once before in the United States, under the baton of Priestman on March 25, 1974 with Cristina Deutekom
Cristina Deutekom
Cristina Deutekom is a Dutch opera singer. Renowned for her coloratura technique, she is also known as Christine Deutekom and Christina Deutekom....
in the title role and Karan Armstrong
Karan Armstrong
Karan Armstrong is an American operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the 1960s.-Biography:...
as Morgana.
In February 1973 Simon conducted the HSNY in their only performance of a non-Handel work, William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
's Belshazzar's Feast
Belshazzar's Feast (Walton)
Belshazzar's Feast is an oratorio by the English composer William Walton. It was first performed at the Leeds Festival on 8 October 1931. The work has remained one of Walton's most celebrated compositions and one of the most popular works in the English choral repertoire...
, which was paired with an edited version of Handel's Belshazzar
Belshazzar (Handel)
Belshazzar is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. The libretto was by Charles Jennens, and Handel abridged it considerably. Jennens' libretto was based on the Biblical account of the fall of Babylon at the hands of Cyrus the Great and the subsequent freeing of the Jewish nation, as found in the...
. Other Handel works which Simon conducted for the HSNY were the oratorios Solomon
Solomon (Handel)
Solomon, HWV 67, is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. Its libretto is based on the biblical stories of wise king Solomon and is attributed to Newburgh Hamilton...
(1971), Athalia (1972), Judas Maccabaeus (1972), and Saul
Saul (Handel)
Saul is an oratorio in three acts written by George Frideric Handel with a libretto by Charles Jennens. Taken from the 1st Book of Samuel, the story of Saul focuses on the first king of Israel’s relationship with his eventual successor, David; one which turns from admiration to envy and hatred,...
(1973); and the opera Ezio (1973). He conducted the HSNY's last concert, a performance of Handel's Samson, on April 23, 1974 with Richard Tucker
Richard Tucker
Richard Tucker was an American operatic tenor.-Early life:Tucker was born Rivn Ticker in Brooklyn, New York, into a family of Romanian immigrants from Bessarabia. His father, Shmul Ticker, and mother Fanya-Tsipa Ticker had already adopted the surname "Tucker" by the time their son entered first...
in the title role.
Partial discography
| Year | Work | Cast | Conductor, Chorus and/or Orchestra | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Solomon Solomon (Handel) Solomon, HWV 67, is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. Its libretto is based on the biblical stories of wise king Solomon and is attributed to Newburgh Hamilton... , an oratorio in 3 acts |
Saramae Endich Saramae Endich Saramae Endich was an American classical soprano who had an active performance career in concerts and operas during the 1950s and 1960s.-Life and career:... Patricia Brooks Patricia Brooks Patricia Brooks , was a lyric soprano, actress, and opera singer, who performed primarily with the New York City Opera. She was known for her acting ability as much as for her voice.-Biography:... Alexander Young Alexander Young (tenor) Alexander Basil Young was an English tenor who had an active career performing in concerts and operas from the late 1940s through the early 1970s. He was particularly admired for his performances in the operas of Handel, Mozart, and Rossini.In 1953 he performed the role of Tom Rakewell in the... John Shirley-Quirk John Shirley-Quirk John Shirley-Quirk CBE is an English bass-baritone.He was born in Liverpool, England, and sang in his high school choir. He played the violin and was awarded a scholarship. While studying chemistry and physics at Liverpool University, he studied voice with Austen Carnegie... |
Stephen Simon (conductor) Vienna Youth Choir Vienna Volksoper Orchestra Vienna Volksoper The Vienna Volksoper is a major opera house in Vienna, Austria. It gives about three hundred performances of twenty-five productions during an annual season running from September through June.... |
RCA Red Seal Records RCA Red Seal Records RCA Red Seal Records is a classical music label and is now part of Sony Masterworks.The Red Seal label was begun in 1902 by the Gramophone Company in the United Kingdom and was quickly picked up by its United States affiliate, the Victor Talking Machine Company, and its president, Eldridge R. Johnson... , 1968 3 sound discs : 33 1/3 rpm, stereo ; 12 in LP LSC 6187 |
| 1970 | Orlando Orlando (opera) Orlando is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel written for the Royal Academy of Music . The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's L'Orlando after Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, which was also the source of Handel's operas Alcina and... , opera in 3 acts |
Sophia Steffan (Orlando) Graziella Sciutti Graziella Sciutti Graziella Sciutti was an Italian soprano opera singer and later vocal teacher and opera producer.-Career:Sciutti was born in Turin, Italy. Her parents were musical, her father being an organist; her mother was French... (Angelica) Bernadette Greevy Bernadette Greevy Bernadette Greevy was an Irish mezzo-soprano. She was founder and artistic director of the Anna Livia Dublin International Opera Festival. She was the first artist-in-residence at the Dublin Institute of Technology's Faculty of Applied Arts.-Biography:Bernadette Greevy was born in Clontarf, Dublin... (Medoro) Carole Bogard (Dorinda) Marius Rintzler (Zoroastro) |
Stephen Simon (conductor) Vienna Youth Choir Vienna Volksoper Orchestra |
RCA Red Seal Records, 1971 3 sound discs : 33 1/3 rpm, stereo ; 12 in LP LSC 6197 |
| 1970 | Ariodante Ariodante Ariodante is an opera seria in three acts by Handel. The anonymous Italian libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso... , opera in 3 acts |
Sophia Steffan (Ariodante) Graziella Sciutti (Ginerva) Bernadette Greevy (Polinesso) Carole Bogard (Dalinda) Ian Partridge Ian Partridge Ian Partridge CBE is a retired English lyric tenor, whose repertoire ranged from Monteverdi, Bach and Handel, the Elizabethan lute songs, German, French and English songs, through to Schoenberg, Weill and Britten, and on to contemporary works. He formed a renowned vocal-piano duo with his sister... (Lurcanio) Marius Rintzler (King of Scotland) |
Stephen Simon Vienna Academy Choir Vienna State Opera Chorus Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian... |
RCA Red Seal Records, 1971 3 sound discs : 33 1/3 rpm, stereo ; 12 in LP LSC 6200 |
| 1972 | Rinaldo Rinaldo (opera) Rinaldo is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1711. It is the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London stage. The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario provided by Aaron Hill. The work was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in London's... , opera in 3 acts [excerpts] |
Beverly Wolff Beverly Wolff Beverly Wolff was an American mezzo-soprano who had an active career in concerts and operas from the early 1950s to the early 1980s. She performed a broad repertoire which encompassed operatic and concert works in many languages and from a variety of musical periods... (Rinaldo) Arleen Auger Arleen Auger Joyce Arleen Auger was an American soprano singer, admired for her coloratura voice and interpretations of works by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Monteverdi, Gluck, and Mozart.-Biography:... (Almirena) Rita Shane Rita Shane Rita Shane is a dramatic coloratura soprano. She studied at Barnard College and under Beverly Peck Johnson, and made her operatic debut as the doll Olympia in Les contes d'Hoffmann, at Chattanooga in 1964... (Armida) Raymond Michalski Raymond Michalski Raymond Michalski is an American operatic bass-baritone. He studied voice with Rosalie Miller at the Mannes School of Music in New York City before making his professional stage debut in 1959 as Nourabad in Georges Bizet's Les pecheurs de perles with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company... (Argante) |
Stephen Simon Vienna Volksoper Orchestra |
RCA Red Seal Records, 1973 1 sound disc : 33 1/3 rpm, stereo ; 12 in ARL1-0084 |
| 1974 | Alcina Alcina Alcina is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of L'isola di Alcina, an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after, during his travels in Italy... , opera in 3 acts |
Cristina Deutekom Cristina Deutekom Cristina Deutekom is a Dutch opera singer. Renowned for her coloratura technique, she is also known as Christine Deutekom and Christina Deutekom.... (Alcina) Beverly Wolff (Ruggiero) Karan Armstrong Karan Armstrong Karan Armstrong is an American operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the 1960s.-Biography:... (Morgana) Lucia Valentini-Terrani (Bradamante) John Stewart John Stewart (tenor) John Harger Stewart is an American tenor, conductor, and voice teacher who had an active international singing career in concerts and operas from 1964 to 1990. He began his career singing regularly with the Santa Fe Opera from the mid 1960s through the early 1970s; after which he appeared only... (Oronte) Paul Plishka Paul Plishka Paul Plishka is a Ukrainian-American bass opera singer.Mr Plishka comes from Old Forge, Pennsylvania and Paterson, New Jersey; his parents were American-born children of Ukrainian immigrants... (Melisso) |
Brian Priestman Handel Society of New York Orchestra & Chorus |
Gala GL 100.584 |