The English Concert is an outstanding orchestra: exceptional, in the world-renowned quality, ambition and variety of its live and recorded output; unique, in the zeal of its players for working and performing together; unwavering, in its desire to connect with its audience throughout the world. Founded by Trevor Pinnock in 1972 and under the present artistic direction of Harry Bicket and principal guest Kristian Bezuidenhout, The English Concert has earned a reputation for combining urgency, passion and fire with precision, delicacy and beauty. Highlights of the orchestra’s calendar include an international Handel opera tour, a regular London series at venues including the Wigmore Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields and the Barbican Centre, and an annual residency at Garsington Opera.

 

Conductor: Harry Bicket
Internationally-renowned as an opera and concert conductor of distinction, Harry Bicket is especially noted for his interpretations of baroque and classical repertoire. Since 2007 he has been Artistic Director of The English Concert, with whom he recently embarked on a project to film every piece of Handel to create an on-line resource for all. Highlights of the 24/25 season include a return to Sante Fe Opera, where Bicket is Music Director, for Le nozze di Figaro, as well as Bicket’s Opernhaus Zurich debut with Agripinna and a return to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for a collaboration with Joffrey Ballet. With The English Concert he will lead a tour across Europe and the United States of Giulio Cesare, alongside their regular London and European series.

 

ARYEH NUSSBAUM COHEN - Rinaldo
Countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen brings his “astonishingly beautiful” (The Guardian) instrument to a range of repertoire spanning the Baroque to the contemporary. His recent portrayal of the title role in Sir David McVicar’s production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare at Glyndebourne was “dazzling” (ArtsDesk) and “superbly sung” (Bachtrack). He has performed with leading opera companies and orchestras around the world including Bayerische Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich, Adelaide Festival, Komische Oper Berlin, the San Francisco Opera, Ballet, and Symphony, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, and Music of the Baroque. He debuts this season with La Monnaie de Munt, for the world premiere of Fanny and Alexander, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Festival de Froville, and the Kennedy Center, and he returns to Deutsche Oper Berlin, Carnegie Hall and many others. Nussbaum Cohen earned a History degree from Princeton; he then graduated from San Francisco Opera’s Merola and Adler Fellowship Programs and the Houston Grand Opera Studio. He has taken top prizes in the vocal competitions of the Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Gerda Lissner Foundation, and earned a George and Nora London Foundation Award and a Richard Tucker Study Grant and Career Grant.

 

Alexander Chance - Eustazio
In demand as a concert soloist, Alexander Chance has given many recitals around Europe, making his recital debut at the Wigmore Hall and Concertgebouw Amsterdam in 2024. His debut recording, ‘Drop not, mine eyes’ with lutenist Toby Carr, was named one of Gramophone Magazine’s ‘Best albums of 2023’. His recent opera roles include Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Britten) for The Grange Festival; Apollo (Death in Venice, Britten) for Welsh National Opera; and Tolomeo (Giulio Cesare, Handel) for English Touring Opera. Recent and future highlights include his debut appearance at the BBC Proms, a return to Wigmore Hall with the London Handel Players, and concerts with The English Concert and Dunedin Consort.

 

Ashley Riches - Argante
Bass-baritone Ashley Riches trained at King's College, Cambridge and the Guildhall School. He was a Jette Parker Young Artist and BBC New Generation Artist. His 2024/25 season highlights include Handel's Messiah with John Butt, and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Bach's St John Passion with Harry Bicket, and Puccini's La Rondine with the LSO and Antonio Pappano. Recent roles include Roucher in Giordano’s Andrea Chénier at the Royal Opera House and performances of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, Verdi's Requiem, Handel's Messiah, and Purcell's King Arthur. An accomplished recitalist, he released his debut solo recital recording, A Musical Zoo, in 2021.

 

Rachael Wilson - Armida
American mezzo-soprano Rachael Wilson is a recent recipient of the honorary Bavarian Art Prize. A native from Las Vegas, Nevada, she is a graduate of the Juilliard School, and was a member of the Opera Studio at the Bayerische Staatsoper, In the 2024/25 Season, Rachael will make her debut with the Komische Oper Berlin as the Alto Soloist in Damiano Michieletto's new staging of Handel's Messiah at the Tempelhof Airport and she also makes her debut at the Staatsoper Hamburg as Donna Elvira Don Giovanni; she returns to the Glyndebourne Festival as Varvara Katya Kabanova conducted by Robin Ticciati - Varvara is a role she will also sing in Krzysztof Warlikowski's new production at the Bayerische Staatsoper conducted by Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. On the concert stage, Rachael will appear the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, the Gävle Symphony Orchestra and she will make her debut at the Musikverein with the Wiener Symphoniker and Lorenzo Viotti.

 

 

Andy Shen Liu - Araldo / Donna / Magician
Hailed as “a little short of sensational,” Andy Shen Liu has mesmerized audiences globally, from the stages of Lincoln Center to Royal Albert Hall. Since his debut at age 7, Liu has performed with leading orchestras and opera companies, premiering works ranging from Baroque to contemporary. His notable roles include Ernesto in Haydn’s Il Mondo della Luna and Eurindo in Stradella’s La Forza dell’amor Paterno. Liu’s performance of Twilight of Himalayas was released by Deutsche Grammophon. A graduate of Juilliard Pre-College and the Royal Academy of Music, he is committed to inspiring younger generations to embrace opera and Baroque music.

 

Mary Bevan - Almirena
Praised by Opera for her “dramatic wit and vocal control”, British soprano Mary Bevan is internationally renowned in baroque, classical and contemporary repertoire, and appears regularly with leading conductors, orchestras and ensembles around the world. She is a winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist award and UK Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Young Talent in music and was awarded a MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list in 2019. During the 2024/25 season, Bevan returns to English National Opera as Susanna Le nozze di Figaro, to Opera di Roma as Morgana Alcina, and makes her debut with the Semperoper Dresden as Michal in a new Claus Guth production of Saul.

 

Paula Murrihy - Goffredo
Paula Murrihy enjoys a busy career working at the highest level in Europe and the US. She has appeared on the world’s major stages including Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, Opéra de Paris, the Bolshoi Theatre, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Zurich Opera and the Salzburg Festival. This season’s highlights include Dejanira Hercules at Oper Frankfurt, Waitress Innocence at the Semperoper Dresden, Béatrice Béatrice et Bénédict at Irish National Opera, Komponist Ariadne auf Naxos at Opéra de Rouen and Fox Cunning Little Vixen at Opéra de Paris. Paula tours extensively on the concert platform, particularly enjoying her regular collaboration with the English Concert.