Ars Lyrica Houston Opens Its 2019/20 Season With Baroque Music And Dance

Ars Lyrica Houston, the Grammy-nominated early music ensemble, opens its 2019/20 season of "National Treasures" with Dancing at the Palais. This program features a full Baroque orchestra under the leadership of harpsichordist and ALH Artistic Director Matthew Dirst plus the New York Baroque Dance Company, with choreography by NYBDC artistic director Catherine Turocy.

Program selections include instrumental suites from two vibrantly colorful French Baroque operas, both first seen at the Palais-Royal in Paris, with period choreography and costumes. The suites featured on this program come from André Campra's Hésione (a modern world premiere) and Les Indes Galantes by Jean-Philippe Rameau. Turocy is a pioneer in historical choreography, dance technique, and stage movement and has directed numerous highly acclaimed productions of Baroque operas in the US and in Europe. She returns to Houston during the 2020/21 season for Ars Lyrica's new production of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas.

Subscriptions and single tickets are on sale now at www.arslyricahouston.org or through the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts Box Office at 713.315.2525 (Press 4 for Ars Lyrica Houston). For more information on our Young Professionals Society and other exclusive event opportunities, visit www.arslyricahouston.org/young-professionals-society.

Founded in 1998 by harpsichordist and conductor Matthew Dirst, Ars Lyrica Houston presents a diverse array of music from the 17th and 18th centuries on period instruments. Its local subscription series, according to the Houston Chronicle, "sets the agenda" for early music in Houston and it also appears regularly at major festivals and conferences, including the 2014 Berkeley Early Music Festival & Exhibition. Ars Lyrica's distinctive programming favors Baroque dramatic and chamber works, and its pioneering efforts have won international acclaim.