Handel’s The Power of Music (Nov. 11-14)

Dennis Bolt

Can Music Change the Course of History? 

Three centuries ago, George Frideric Handel explored a bold idea: that music can change how people think, feel, and act. 

Music Director Peter Whelan and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale open the 2026/27 season with Handel’s The Power of Music, featuring Alexander’s Feast, a vocal and choral masterpiece inspired by a legendary banquet marking Alexander the Great’s victory over Persia. As the feast unfolds, poet-musician Timotheus uses music to influence the conqueror and change the course of history. 

Bay Area audiences will be first in the U.S. to hear Handel’s 1742 Dublin version, performed on period instruments and in the style of the time.

Handel’s The Power of Music
Wednesday – Saturday, November 11-14, 2026
Tickets: Start at $40 | Under-30s pay only $20 in SF & Berkeley – even for the best available seats!

Performances:

• Wednesday, November 11 | 7:30pm
  Bing Concert Hall, Stanford
• Friday, November 13 | 7:30pm
  Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
• Saturday, November 14 | 2:30pm
  First Congregational Church, Berkeley

Concert Highlights

• The concert features the 1742 Dublin version, performed in Ireland just weeks before the world premiere of Messiah.
• The work serves as a major showcase for the soloists and Philharmonia Chorale, with arias, ensembles, and choruses that move the drama forward.
• Handel contrasts ceremonial brilliance with intimate reflection, including music for trumpet and drums alongside lyrical writing for voices and strings.
• Philharmonia performs on period instruments, so you can hear the music much as audiences did in Handel’s time.

Program

• Peter Whelan – Conductor
• Sherezade Panthaki – Soprano
• Rachael Wilson – Mezzo-soprano
• James Way – Tenor
• Philharmonia Chorale, Valérie Sainte-Agathe – Director

HANDEL – Alexander’s Feast, or The Power of Music (1742 Dublin version) (U.S. PREMIERE)

The performance at Bing Concert Hall is co-presented as part of Stanford Live’s 2026-2027 Season.

The length of this performance is approximately two hours, twenty minutes including a twenty-minute intermission.

 

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