FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The GRAMMY-winning Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Opera Series presents Pyramus & Thisbe: A Mock Opera by John Frederick Lampe based on a Shakespeare text—this Thanksgiving weekend in Troy, NY and Boston, MA
Cambridge, MA – The GRAMMY Award-winning Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Opera Series returns on Thanksgiving weekend with an all-new production of Pyramus & Thisbe: A Mock Opera—representing the 15th edition of this beloved holiday tradition. 18th-century London audiences were flocking to new Shakespeare adaptations, and if you can’t beat them, join them! Three performances take place starting on Friday, November 27, 2026 at 7:30pm at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, NY, before continuing to Boston for two performances on Saturday, November 28, 2026 at 8pm and Sunday, November 29, 2026 at 3pm at NEC’s Jordan Hall in Boston, MA. There will also be a virtual presentation from Saturday, December 12 through Sunday, December 27, 2026.
“Our play is The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe.”
—Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
With “words taken from Shakespeare” and his play-within-a-play from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lampe’s Pyramus & Thisbe expands the emotional range of the original to include heart-rending lyricism between the episodes of typically English silliness. Falling in love through a crack in a wall, ill-fated Pyramus and Thisbe plan a moonlit rendezvous in the shade of a mulberry tree, before a ferocious lion gets in the way and a tragedy of misunderstandings ensues.
Period-inspired staging, lavish costumes, and elegant Baroque dance bring this satirical romp to life with an all-star cast of singers, dancers, and instrumentalists in this new production led by Musical Directors Stephen Stubbs and Paul O’Dette, Stage Director & Choreographer Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière, Concertmaster Robert Mealy, Costume Designer Anna Kjellsdotter, Lighting Designer Kelly Martin, and Executive Producer Kathleen Fay. The stellar cast portraying Shakespeare’s delightful characters features GRAMMY-winning tenor Aaron Sheehan as Pyramus, soprano Nola Richardson as Thisbe, baritone John Taylor Ward as Lion, GRAMMY-nominated tenor Brian Giebler as Moon, and tenor Jason McStoots as Wall alongside the all-star BEMF Chamber Ensemble, the BEMF Dance Company, and guest actor Caleb Mayo.
PRE-OPERA TALK
Join us one hour before each performance in Boston for an engaging talk featuring celebrated author and musicologist Ellen T. Harris.
| ARTISTS: | Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Opera Series Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière, Stage Director & Choreographer Robert Mealy, ConcertmasterAnna Kjellsdotter, Costume DesignerKelly Martin, Lighting DesignerGrant Sorenson, Assistant Stage DirectorAnna Mansbridge, Assistant Choreographer Kathleen Fay, Executive Producer Aaron Sheehan, Pyramus Nola Richardson, Thisbe John Taylor Ward, Lion Brian Giebler, Moon Jason McStoots, Wall Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble Robert Mealy & Cynthia Roberts, violin; Sarah Darling, viola; Phoebe Carrai, violoncello; Nathaniel Chase, double bass; Kathryn Montoya & Gaia Saetermoe-Howard, oboe & recorder; Dominic Teresi, bassoon; John Thiessen & Brandon Bergeron, trumpet; Todd Williams & Nathanael Udell, horn; Michelle Humphreys, percussion; Paul O’Dette, theorbo; Stephen Stubbs, Baroque guitar; Maxine Eilander, Baroque harp; David Morris, violoncello &viola da gamba; Michael Sponseller, harpsichord Boston Early Music Festival Dance Ensemble Julian Donahue, Caitlin Klinger, Tshedzom Tingkhye Caleb Mayo, actor |
| LOCATION: | Friday, November 27, 2026 at 7:30pm ET Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, 30 Second Street, Troy, NY Saturday, November 28, 2026 at 8pm ET Virtual Premiere: Saturday, December 12, 2026 at 8pm ET |
| TICKETS: | Tickets for the Boston performances are priced at $140, $105, $70, $55, and $35 for the in-person performance, and $25 for the virtual event. All Boston tickets include a complimentary ticket for the virtual performance. To purchase tickets, visit BEMF.org or call the BEMF Box Office at 617-661-1812. Discounts are available for students and seniors.
Tickets for the Troy performance are priced at $73, $63, and $46, and are available from the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Box Office at troymusichall.org. |
RESOURCES
Press Images: https://bemf.org/about-us/press-room/press-images/
ABOUT THE BEMF CHAMBER OPERA SERIES
Hailed as “an absolute delight” by The New York Times, since 2008 the BEMF Chamber Opera Series has taken the internationally acclaimed musicianship, scholarship, and direction showcased in BEMF’s fully staged Festival operas and focused it on small-scale works in intimate productions each Thanksgiving weekend. BEMF has taken a number of these productions on tour with performances in New York City, Miami, Kansas City, and Seattle, as well as international destinations in Canada, Sweden, and Germany. BEMF’s studio recording of Charpentier’s La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers and La Couronne de Fleurs was awarded the 2015 GRAMMY Award for Best Opera Recording and the studio recording of Telemann’s Ino was awarded the 2026 GRAMMY Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.
ABOUT THE BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL
Recognized as the preeminent early music presenter and Baroque opera producer in North America, the Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) has been credited with securing Boston’s reputation as “America’s early music capital” (The Boston Globe). Founded in 1981, BEMF offers diverse programs and activities, including two GRAMMY Award–winning and five more GRAMMY Award–nominated recordings, an annual concert series that features early music’s brightest stars on the BEMF concert stage, and a biennial week-long Festival and Exhibition recognized as the “world’s leading festival of early music” (The Times, London). The 24th Boston Early Music Festival will take place from June 6 to 13, 2027, and will feature the fully-staged North American premiere of Telemann’s operatic masterpiece, Emma und Eginhard. BEMF’s Artistic Leadership includes Artistic Directors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Opera Director Gilbert Blin, Orchestra Director Robert Mealy, and Dance Director Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière.
