Arcadia Players - Early Music Performances in the Pioneer Valley
Live local performances of the diverse musical legacy of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.
Our Next Concert
Handel and Porpora, Rivals Paired
Friday, December 11 at 7:30 PM
Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Longmeadow, MA
Saturday, December 12 at 3 PM
Abbey Chapel, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
This concert pairs Part I of Handel’s celebrated Messiah with psalms and antiphons by Nicola Porpora, Handel’s rival in London in the 1730s. In the 1730s a group of English nobles founded an opera company, “The Opera of the Nobility,” to compete with Handel’s “Queen’s Theater” company, and engaged the Italian composer Nicola Porpora. By 1737 both opera companies had failed, which later led Handel to take up the genre of oratorio. This proved to be much more successful financially in London. Porpora was never out to get Handel, and it’s quite likely that the failure of both opera houses had as much to do with politics and economic factors as it did with attendance and the music itself. You all know and love Handel’s Messiah, and you might be surprised how much you enjoy the exuberant sacred music of Porpora.
More This Season
17th Century Masterworks by Hans Leo Hassler
Featuring the Fisk Organ at Abbey Chapel, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
Saturday, January 30, 2027 at 3:00
Tenebrae in Austria circa 1690
A concert reenactment of a Tenebrae ritual as one might have witnessed it in 17th-century Salzburg or Vienna.
Friday, March 19 at 7:30 PM
About Arcadia Players
Arcadia Players presents the broad and diverse heritage of 16th, 17th and 18th century vocal and instrumental music through public performance with period instruments and historical performance practices.
The professional ensemble presents live concerts and programs at venues throughout the Connecticut Valley in western Massachusetts. Programs include chamber music, opera, orchestral and vocal repertoire from the Renaissance to the Classical eras.
Check out the 2026-27 concert season - five amazing musical programs in six local locations!
