Harry Bicket

British early music specialist Harry Bicket took the helm of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra at Royce Hall, UCLA, on Sunday, leading muscular, invigorating performances of early Mendelssohn, a familiar concerto by C.P.E. Bach and Haydn's final symphony. No stranger to Los Angeles, Bicket won hearts and minds conducting Monteverdi's "The Coronation of Poppea" and Handel's "Giulio Cesare" for Los Angeles Opera in 2006 and 2001, respectively.

British early music specialist Harry Bicket took the helm of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra at Royce Hall, UCLA, on Sunday, leading muscular, invigorating performances of early Mendelssohn, a familiar concerto by C.P.E. Bach and Haydn's final symphony. No stranger to Los Angeles, Bicket won hearts and minds conducting Monteverdi's "The Coronation of Poppea" and Handel's "Giulio Cesare" for Los Angeles Opera in 2006 and 2001, respectively.

The phrase "a real gentlemen" comes up often when singers speak of conductor Harry Bicket, currently leading the Los Angeles Opera's three-week run of Monteverdi's "The Coronation of Poppea" at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. "There's no maestro ego about him," says Susan Graham, the celebrated mezzo-soprano who sings the title role of Poppea in this production, her second collaboration with the conductor, following an album of arias they recorded in 2000.

The phrase "a real gentlemen" comes up often when singers speak of conductor Harry Bicket, currently leading the Los Angeles Opera's three-week run of Monteverdi's "The Coronation of Poppea" at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. "There's no maestro ego about him," says Susan Graham, the celebrated mezzo-soprano who sings the title role of Poppea in this production, her second collaboration with the conductor, following an album of arias they recorded in 2000.

Harry Bicket, one of the rising stars of the early music movement, has conducted here in the past. He manned the pit for Los Angeles Opera's "Giulio Cesare" three years ago. His performance was exciting but rushed -- perhaps he was in a hurry to get through a long opera and muddled production.

If you're surprised to see the same soprano singing the disparate roles of Pamina and the Queen of the Night, that's the point. Dessay's album argues that Mozart didn't make the vocal classifications we do today. For him, a soprano was a soprano was a ... well, maybe. Dessay is excellent in the pyrotechnics of the Queen (and other virtuosic roles), but less persuasive in the fuller lyricism demanded of Pamina (and similar heroines).

The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra will make its first European tour in more than 30 years in 2008, the group has announced, with concerts led by Music Director Jeffrey Kahane in seven cities in Italy, Germany, Austria and France. The Feb. 28-March 8 tour, in LACO's 39th subscription season, will feature mezzo-soprano Vesselina Kasarova in five performances and composer in residence, pianist Uri Caine, in two.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is moving into the 21st century. In celebration of the composer's 250th birthday, KMZT-FM (105.1) is featuring a free download beginning today of Mozart's Serenade No. 6 in D major K.239 (Serenata Notturna) on its website at www.kmzt.com. Conducted by Harry Bicket, the 14-minute piece is performed by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and was recorded live at Royce Hall last year.

In addition to its typical five-program concert season in churches and museums, and its collaborations with other institutions, the early music ensemble Musica Angelica will bring two internationally known conductors to the podium next season for five programs at Zipper Hall at the Colburn School for the Performing Arts and to UCLA's Royce Hall.

Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra's bid to place itself prominently on the Los Angeles music map paid off handsomely Sunday afternoon at UCLA's Royce Hall with a warm and personal performance of Bach's B-minor mass that reached majestic heights. Music director Michael Eagan had turned over conducting duties to British guest Harry Bicket, who cannily gauged dynamics and expressivity, keeping the lines alive and full of conviction.

Harry Bicket, one of the rising stars of the early music movement, has conducted here in the past. He manned the pit for Los Angeles Opera's "Giulio Cesare" three years ago. His performance was exciting but rushed -- perhaps he was in a hurry to get through a long opera and muddled production.

If you're surprised to see the same soprano singing the disparate roles of Pamina and the Queen of the Night, that's the point. Dessay's album argues that Mozart didn't make the vocal classifications we do today. For him, a soprano was a soprano was a ... well, maybe. Dessay is excellent in the pyrotechnics of the Queen (and other virtuosic roles), but less persuasive in the fuller lyricism demanded of Pamina (and similar heroines).

Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra once again was asked to convert itself partway into an 18th century period-performance band. This time, the conductor-instructor was Harry Bicket, who has made a huge reputation in Handel with the Metropolitan Opera and other world-class companies over the last 10 years. Though Los Angeles saw him in 2004 with the Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, it was Bicket's debut with LACO -- and he brought along an excellent program.

"Orfeo ed Euridice," the last production this season for Chicago's Lyric Opera, is a dark, starkly solemn, minimalist show. Emotion is not kept out of Gluck's mannerly opera, but it is kept in check. The understated modern-dress staging is beautiful to witness. The singing displays elegance.