Sing-Along Messiah
Guest artists
Rachel Redmond
Soprano
Scottish soprano Rachel Redmond trained at the Royal Scottish Conservatoire and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and began her career in William Christie’s Jardin des Voix. She performs regularly with many of Europe’s leading baroque ensembles, and at the Göttingen and London Handel Festivals.
She recently made her debuts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Academy of Ancient Music, Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Les Talens Lyriques, Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoign, Netherlands Bach Society, and the Gulbenkian Orchestra. She performed Handel’s Messiah at the Salzburg Festival, and Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at the BBC Proms.
Rachel made her stage debut at the Opera Comique in Lully’s Atys, followed by Campra’s Les fêtes vénitiennes in Paris, Toulouse, and New York. She sang Second Woman in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at Aix-en-Provence Festival, and Loena in Offenbach’s La belle Hélène at the Théâtre du Châtelet. Engagements in 2023 include her debut at Opéra du Rhin performing Fortuna in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea.
Cameron Shahbazi
Countertenor
Persian-Canadian countertenor Cameron Shahbazi is one of the most promising young voices of the opera world today, praised for his acclaimed interpretations of both baroque and contemporary music. Highlights of recent seasons include appearances with Oper Frankfurt, Moscow Chamber Ensemble, Oper Köln, and Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, and a recital at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He was an Associate Artist at the Dutch National Opera Studio, and in 2022/23 returns to sing his signature role Tolomeo in a new production of Handel Giulio Cesare.
Other highlights of 22/23 include appearances with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Pergolesi Stabat Mater at the Royal Chapel in Versailles, Sir George Benjamin’s acclaimed concert piece Dream of the Song in Cologne, and the premiere of a new work by Benjamin at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. Originally from Hamilton, Cameron is an alumnus of the University of Toronto and Amsterdam Conservatory.
James Reese
Tenor
James Reese sings with “intensity and sensitivity…[with] spirituality and eloquence.” (Chestnut Hill Local) He is a frequently sought tenor soloist with leading orchestras and ensembles throughout North America. James maintains close relationships with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the American Bach Soloists, The Sebastians, TENET Vocal Artists, the Washington Bach Consort and the Gamut Bach Ensemble, and recently made his debut with Boston Early Music.
An active recitalist, James presents song recitals with his friend and collaborator, pianist Daniel Overly. Together they debuted at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society in 2022. He is a 2023 GRAMMY nominee as a soloist on The Crossing’s release Born, with music of Edie Hill and Michael Gilbertson. He appears as a soloist on several discs released on the Hyperion Label, including singing the Evangelist in Heinrich Schütz’s Christmas Oratorio, released in 2019.
A graduate of Northwestern and Yale Universities, James Reese is currently based in Philadelphia.
Enrico Lagasca
Bass-baritone
Filipino-American bass-baritone Enrico Lagasca appears as both a solo and ensemble singer in a wide range of ensembles, including New York’s mission-specific TENET Vocal Artists, and with major orchestras under conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Pablo Heras-Casado, Nicholas McGegan, Jane Glover and John Butt.
Opera roles include Collatinus in Britten’s Rape of Lucretia and Lorenzo in Bellini’s I Capuleti e I Montecchi. His willingness to take risks onstage has brought him to the attention of directors such as Thaddeus Strassberger, RB Schlather, and Kevin Newbury.
As much as the great sacred works of Bach, Handel, Haydn, and Mozart remain in his bones, Enrico increasingly seeks out music by living composers such as Wolfe, Dove, Caroline Shaw, and Reena Esmail. Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles figures repeatedly in his 2022/23 season, along with Craig Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard— the latter reflecting Enrico’s particular interest in works that address the LGBTQ+ community. He is a member of the Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble, which is dedicated to diversity and social justice.
Credits
Directed by Ivars Taurins
Rachel Redmond soprano
Cameron Shahbazi countertenor
James Reese tenor
Enrico Lagasca bass-baritone
Tafelmusik Chamber Choir
Program
Handel Messiah