Handel's Tolomeo
Music Director Peter Whelan launches his highly anticipated first season with Philharmonia Baroque with a semi-staged production of Handel's Tolomeo, one of the composer's most beautiful and rarely heard operas. Countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen leads a star-studded cast, joined by Philharmonia's acclaimed period-instrument orchestra, in a gripping tale of political intrigue, shifting loyalties, and enduring love.
Written in 1728, Tolomeo, re d'Egitto follows an exiled king stripped of power and living under an assumed identity. As political alliances shift and loyalties are tested, identities unravel and love proves more complicated—and more resilient—than expected. Handel's score moves effortlessly between moments of intimacy, heartbreak, determination, and triumph, creating a deeply human portrait of survival in uncertain times.
Performed on period instruments and sung in Italian with English supertitles, Handel’s Tolomeo brings audiences closer to the sound world Handel's first listeners would have known nearly 300 years ago while marking the beginning of an exciting new era for Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale under Peter Whelan's leadership.
Artists
Peter Whelan, conductor
James Darrah Black, director
Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, countertenor (Tolomeo)
Lauren Snouffer, soprano (Seleuce)
Nicole Heaston, soprano (Elisa)
Kangmin Justin Kim, countertenor (Alessandro)
Dashon Burton, bass-baritone (Araspe)
Program
Handel: Tolomeo, re d'Egitto, HWV 25
Performances
- San Francisco: Thursday, July 23, 2026 at 7:30pm — Herbst Theatre
Tickets
- $40–$175. $20 tickets available for Under 30s, while supplies last.
- Information and tickets at philharmonia.org, or call Patron Services at (415) 295-1900, Monday through Friday from 10AM to 4PM
Sung in Italian with English supertitles. Approximate running time: 2 hours 30 minutes, including one intermission.