Night Music presents Alfred: A Masque

In 1757, Philadelphia hosted one of the earliest large-scale musical dramas in the American colonies: Alfred: A Masque, featuring music by Thomas Augustine Arne and the first appearance of the tune “Rule, Britannia!” Performed before governors, military leaders, and perhaps even George Washington, the production was a bold expression of British patriotism at a pivotal moment during the French and Indian War. Yet it also reflected a growing sense of colonial identity that would soon reshape history.

Night Music reimagines this remarkable Philadelphia event in a vibrant, historically inspired concert performance. Rather than reconstructing the 1757 pastiche exactly, co-directors Heather Miller Lardin and Steven Zohn craft a new adaptation drawn from the original score and related repertoire by Handel and his contemporaries. Performed with one-to-a-part strings and an outstanding roster of Baroque specialists, this oratorio-style presentation brings to life the sound world of mid-18th-century Philadelphia: when music, politics, and identity intertwined on the eve of independence.

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Soprano: Jessica Beebe, Rebecca Myers
Alto: Meg Bragle
Tenor: James Reese, Jeffrey Thompson
Flute: Steven Zohn
Oboe: Geoffrey Burgess, Ellen Exner
Violin: Karen Dekker, Mandy Wolman
Viola: Amy Leonard
Cello: Eve Miller
Double bass: Heather Miller Lardin
Harpsichord: Adam Pearl

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