Oberlin College presents "Mozart and Papa Haydn": Apollo's Fire with soprano Amanda Forsythe

Renowned baroque orchestra Apollo’s Fire will come to Oberlin as the closing event of the 134th Artist Recital Series this April. The ensemble will present a program showcasing brilliant orchestral and vocal music inspired by the friendship between Haydn and his protégé Mozart, ranging from the proto-romantic Sturm und Drang of Haydn’s “Trauer” symphony to the comedy of Mozart’s early operas. The orchestra will be conducted by founder Jeanette Sorrell (OC ’92) and joined by critically-acclaimed soprano Amanda Forsythe. The concert will take place on April 28 beginning at 4:00 pm in Finney Chapel.

Tickets are $15–$42 and can be ordered by calling Oberlin’s Central Ticket Service at 1-800-371-0178 or online at www.oberlin.edu/artsguide.

Classical Music Magazine has called Apollo’s Fire “one of the brightest lights of period-instrument playing in the United States … arguably the most distinctive in sound and memorable in style.” The orchestra, named for the classical god of music and the sun, was founded in 1992 by conductor and harpsichordist Jeanette Sorrell. Since then, the ensemble has brought faithful and energetic renditions of baroque music to audiences throughout the United States and Europe, including visits to the Aspen Music Festival, the Boston Early Music Festival Series, the Library of Congress, and concert houses from London and Metz to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

In Sorrell’s own words, “Apollo’s Fire is a collection of artists who believe passionately that our job is to communicate—to take listeners with us on an emotional journey. If, at the end of two hours, the audience is moved to tears, or joy, or laughter, or prayer, then we have done a good night’s work.

Soprano Amanda Forsythe, whose singing has been called “meltingly beautiful” (Gramophone), is renowned for her renditions of the classics of the baroque and classical repertoire, including roles such as Barbarina in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at the Royal Opera House and Drusilla in Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea.

Fact Sheet

Sunday, April 28, 2013, 4:00 p.m.
Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra
Finney Chapel, Oberlin College
90 N. Professor Street, Oberlin, OH 44074

Tickets: $42 Public; $37 Seniors/OC Staff, Faculty, & Alumni; $15 Students
All tickets $3 more at the door.

About the Artist Recital Series at Oberlin College

Since the inception of the Artist Recital Series in 1878, more than 1,000 of the most acclaimed and accomplished musicians, conductors, orchestras, chamber ensembles, and composers have graced the stage of Finney Chapel at Oberlin College.

The Oberlin Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College sponsors the Artist Recital Series with additional support from the Friends of the Artist Recital Series. Media sponsorship for the Artist Recital Series is provided by WCLV 104.9-FM, Cleveland’s classical music radio station; WCPN ideastream; and 89.7 WKSU. Corporate sponsorship is provided by the Riverside Company.