Final - Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Competition
Paulina is delighted to be among the 8 singers invited to perform in the final round of the 2025 Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Competition. Her program will include “Orpheus Self May Heave His Head” from Handel’s L’Allegro and “With Verdure Clad” from Haydn’s Creation.
Saturday, April 5 | 1:30 pm
Carnegie Hall
Opera Lafayette: Exultate Jubilate
Paulina will join Opera Lafayette for RE|JOICE, a celebration of Ryan Brown’s 30-year tenure as artistic director. Maestro Brown has built Opera Lafayette into a major cultural force, celebrated from the American shores all the way to the theatre at Versailles. This concert will focus on the music, the musicians, and the composers that Ryan Brown has championed and elevated during his tenure. Notable, Paulina looks forward to her debut of Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate - a motet for solo soprano with orchestra - under the direction of Patrick Quigley.
Performers:
Paulina Francisco, soprano
James Reese, tenor
Jonathan Taylor Ward, bass-baritone
2 Performances:
April 30, 2025 | 7:30 pm in New York City
May 1, 2025 | 7:30 pm at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo
Paulina returns to Crescendo Music this May in the role of Anima in Emilio de’ Cavalieri’s allegorical play Rappresentatione di anima et di corpo, directed by Christine Gevert.
Paulina Francisco, Anima
Anicet Castel, Corpo
Paul Max Tipton, Tempo
Pablo Bustos, Intelletto
Jermaine Woodard Jr., Consiglio
Benjamin Rauch, Piacere
Jennifer Tyo Oberto, Vita Mondana
Salome Sandoval, Angel Custode
2 Performances
Saturday, May 10 | 6pm
Lakeville, CT
Sunday, May 11 | 4pm
Great Barrington, MA
BAC:Mozart Requiem
Paulina is excited to return to Bach Akademie Charlotte’s summer festival for a performance of Mozart’s Requiem.
Saturday, June 7 | 7:30pm
Charlotte, NC
Tears in Heaven
Paulina will join ensemble Space Time Continuo for ‘Tears in Heaven,’ on the Concerts Intimes series offered by Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal. The program features Italian music from the first half of the 17th century that allows us to rediscover a rare instrument—the lirone—, a sort of bass viol with multiple strings that can produce the necessary chords for basso continuo. Mainly used to accompany both the tears and joys of the heavens, it lends its particular sound to the various instrumental and vocal works on the program, including Monteverdi’s sublime Lamento d’Arianna.
March 12, 2025 | 7:30pm in Montréal, QC
Paulina Francisco, soprano
Amanda Keesmat, viola da gamba
Sylvain Bergeron, theorbo
Christophe Gaultier, harpsichord
London Handel Festival: L'Allegro
Paulina is excited to make her London Handel Festival debut with Arcangelo and Jonathan Cohen in a performance of L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato at St. George’s, Hanover Square.
Critically-acclaimed ensemble Arcangelo, opens the London Handel Festival 2025 in style with its debut performance as Principal Ensemble in Residence, under the direction of Jonathan Cohen in his debut as Artistic Adviser. The massed orchestral and choral forces are joined by a star-studded line-up of international soloists to perform one of Handel’s most inventive, unique, and inspiring works.
Based on the imaginative poetry of John Milton, Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato is a breathtaking collision of darkness and light, innocence and experience: a celebration of the wonders of nature and the mysteries of life, and a superbly apt work with which to introduce a significant new chapter in the story of the London Handel Festival.
Performers
Louise Alder, soprano
Paulina Francisco, soprano
Stuart Jackson, tenor
Adam Plachetka, bass
Jonathan Cohen, Director/Harpsichord
Upper Valley Baroque: Recital
Paulina will join forced with beloved friend and colleague Paul Max Tipton to offer a recital of duets for Upper Valley Baroque.
2 Performances:
March 1, 2025 | 7:00 pm in Hannover, NH
March 2, 2025 | 2:00 pm in Woodstock, VT
Holiday Bach Circle
Paulina will be soprano soloist for Crescendo Music’s holiday program, Bach-Circle: Christmas Oratorios and Contemporary Female Voices, directed by Christine Gevert.
At the center of this program stands Johann Sebastian Bach’s fifth cantata of his Christmas Oratorio “Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen“ (Let honor be sung to you, O God). This cantata is about the journey of the wise men and the symbolism of light winning over darkness. An important composer in Bach’s circle was his mentor Dietrich Buxtehude, the renowned North German organist and cantor. His New Year’s, and Johann Schelle’s Advent cantatas, Johann Rosenmüller’s Magnificat, and Philipp Erlebach’s Christmas cantata are followed by a work of the later Jeremias du Grain, a student of Bach’s close friend Georg Philipp Telemann. Several of these festive cantatas are scored for orchestra with trumpets, which symbolized royalty and Christ’s status as the “King of Kings.” In contrast to this stand intimate unaccompanied choral works by the award-winning contemporary female North American composers Emily Drum, MaryAnne Muglia, and Christine Donkin.
2 Performances:
December 28, 2024 at 4 pm (Lakeville, CT)
December 29, 2024 at 4 pm (Great Barrington, MA)
Salon Lute
Paulina looks forward to collaborating with Dušan Balarin on French songs to accompany Salon Lute, choreographed by Douglas Dunn and Christopher Williams. Join us in New York November 22-24 for five intimate performance of Salon Lute, an evening of new dances, poetry, and song featuring music for Baroque lute and theorbo, including songs by Jean-Baptiste Drouart de Bousset and Louis-Nicolas Clérambault.
Performance Schedule:
Friday, November 22 at 7:30pm
Saturday, November 23 at 3:00pm and 7:30pm
Sunday, November 24 at 3:00pm and 7:30pm
SMAM: Héritages polyphoniques
Under the direction of Andrew McAnerney, Le Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal (SMAM) presents Héritages Polyphoniques. This a cappella concert uncelebrates a double legacy: the immense and imperishable legacy of the extraordinary vocal polyphony of the Renaissance, as well as that of the SMAM, which has been singing this repertoire with unequalled conviction for 50 years. This is demonstrated by its remarkable recordings of works by famous and lesser-known masters spanning more than a century, from Josquin des Prés to Johann Hermann Schein.
Program
Josquin des Prés (v.1450-1521) Motet Ave verum corpus for 5 voices Antoine Brumel (v.1460-v.1520) Extracts from the Missa Et ecce terræ tremuit for 12 voices Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594) Extracts from the mass Missa Ut re mi fa sol la for 6 voices Roland de Lassus (1532-1594) Excerpts from Lagrime di San Pietro for 7 voices Luca Marenzio (1553-1599) Motet Super flumina Babylonis for 12 voices in three choirs Johann Hermann Schein ( 1586-1630) Motet Quem vidistis pastores for 8 voices in two choirs.
Bach Akademie Chatlotte: The Lutheran Vespers
Paulina will join the Bach Akademie Charlotte Choir on a musical journey beginning in Johann Sebastian Bach’s music library in Leipzig and ending in the present day. Our program opens with virtuosic choral works that the great Thomaskantor taught his students in Leipzig before exploring contemporary responses to similar texts. Framed by the structure of a Lutheran service of Vespers, this concert will also include Bach Akademie Charlotte’s first performances of works by living composers. A not-to-be-missed highlight will be the first performance of Giles Swayne’s Magnificat I in the Southeast. Inspired by a field trip he took to southern Senegal and Gambia, Swayne incorporated the opening call of the Senegalese ploughing song O Lulum into the beginning of his composition. Brimming with unbridled fertility, rhythmic verve, and percussive drive, Swayne’s work shattered expectations of what ‘church music’ could be.
Bach Akademie Charlotte Choir
Nicolas Haigh, conducting
Friday, October 25 • 7:30 pm
The Cathedral of All Souls, Asheville, NC
Saturday, October 26 • 7:30 pm
Myers Park Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC
Sunday, October 27 • 3:00 pm
Lancaster Cultural Arts Center, Lancaster, SC
TENET: Exultemus
Paulina is excited to curate the opening concert of TENET’s 2024-2025 Season! Exultemus explores the proliferation of 17th century Italian chamber music in churches and courts throughout Poland and Germany. From Gabrieli’s influence in Krakow and Dresden, to the likeness of Frescobaldi in Lübeck, Exultemus explores the far reaches of Italian genres and style embedded within the music of Stanisław Sylwester Szarzyński, Heinrich Schütz, Mikolaj Zieleński, Dietrich Buxtehude, and Adam Jarzębski.
Paulina Francisco & Jolle Greenleaf, soprano
Elisa Sutherland, mezzo
Haitham Haidar, tenor
Paul Max Tipton, bass baritone
Ravenna Lipchik & Carmen Johnson-Pájaro, violin
Matt Zucker, viola da gamba/cello
Adam Cockerham, lute/theorbo
Jeffrey Grossman, keyboard
Doug Balliett - St. Mark Passion
Paulina will return to Les Art Florissant’s annual Festival dans les Jardins de William Christie to premiere St. Mark Passion, a new composition for chamber ensemble by New York-based performer-composer Doug Balliett. This St. Mark Passion, specially commissioned by Les Arts Florissants, represents a new stage in Douglas Balliett's compositional work. With the help of musicians from Les Arts Florissants and the Juilliard School, there's no doubt that this exceptional concert will be one of the highlights of the Festival. Blending baroque and jazz inspirations, Doug’s compositions build bridges between eras and cultures, while being characterised by musical rigour and an unparalleled sense of drama.
Tickets & More Information
Doug Balliett, direction & bass
William Christie, direction & harpsichord
Paulina Francisco, soprano
Mélodie Ruvio, contralto
Cyril Auvity, tenor
Edward Grint, bass
Augusta McKay Lodge & Ryan Cheng, violin
Sebastien Marq, recorder
Sookhyun Lee, oboe
Amelie Boulas, bassoon
Myriam Rignol, viola da gamba
Thomas Dunford, archlute
Marie van Rhijn, harpsichord
The Fairy Queen
Les Arts Florissants and Companie Kafig continue their international tour ofThe Fairy Queen in Summer of 2024 with a performance at Auditori Espai Ter for the Festival de Torroella de Montgrí
The Fairy Queen
Les Arts Florissants and Companie Kafig continue their international tour ofThe Fairy Queen in Summer of 2024 with a performance at Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms - musical direction by Paul Agnew.
Storms, Shipwrecks, & Sorcery
In a late addition to her summer calendar, Paulina will perform G.F. Handel’s Armida Abbandonata and Louis-Nicolas Clérambault’s Médée, in the program Storms, Shipwrecks, & Sorcery at the Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd, MN.
Storms, Shipwrecks, & Sorcery is a fantastical journey through some of the most dramatic music of the 17th and 18th centuries. This program evokes both literal storms and clouds of rage. Two soprano cantatas stunningly portray sorceresses scorned, both the anguished Armida from Handel’s Armida Abbandonata and the vengeful Médée, namesake of Clérambault’s masterpiece. Artistic advisor and curator Chloe Fedor performs the dizzying La Tempesta di Mare, Vivaldi’s violin concerto depicting a storm at sea.
Wednesday, July 31 | 7:30pm
Gichi-ziibi Center for the Arts
Brainerd, Minnesota
Paulina Francisco, soprano
Chloe Fedor, violin & leader
Karen Dekker & Ravenna Lipchik, violin
Kyle Miller, viola
Cullen O’Neil, cello
Matthew Abramo, bass
Elliot Figg, harpsichord
Brandon Acker, theorbo
The Fairy Queen
Le Jardin des Voix 2023 continues its international tour of The Fairy Queen in Summer of 2024 with a performance at the Tanglewood Festival on July 18; musical direction by William Christie
The Fairy Queen
Le Jardin des Voix 2023 continues its international tour of The Fairy Queen in Summer of 2024 with a performance at the Festival de Lanaudière on July 13; musical direction by William Christie
The Fairy Queen
Le Jardin des Voix 2023 continues its international tour of The Fairy Queen in Summer of 2024 with a performance at the Toronto Summer Music Festival on July 11; musical direction by William Christie
The Fairy Queen
Le Jardin des Voix 2023 continues its international tour of The Fairy Queen in Summer of 2024 with a performance at the Teatro alla Scala on June 30; musical direction by William Christie
The Fairy Queen
Le Jardin des Voix 2023 continues its international tour of The Fairy Queen in Summer of 2024 with a performance at the Opéra Royal de Versailles on June 27, with musical direction by William Christie
Vox Luminis: The Fairy Queen
Paulina will make her Vox Luminis debut this summer in a performance of Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen at the Aldeburg Festival, under the artistic leadership of Lionel Meunier.
Vox Luminis: The Fairy Queen
Paulina will make her Vox Luminis debut this summer in a performance of Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen at Salle Graveau in Paris, under the artistic leadership of Lionel Meunier.
From Saint-Cyr to Cannons: Moreau and Handel’s Esther
Opera Lafayette presents From Saint-Cyr to Cannons: Moreau and Handel’s Esther in Washington, DC on February 8 and in NYC on May 9.
This orchestral concert with vocalists includes works by Jean-Baptiste Moreau (1656-1733) and George Frederic Handel (1685-1759), both connected to French dramatist Jean Racine’s play Esther, based on the Old Testament story. Moreau wrote the incidental music for Racine’s Esther, which was first performed at Maintenon’s school for girls in 1689, while Handel’s version is known to be his first English oratorio. The concert will be co-directed by harpsichordist and Opera Lafayette Artistic Associate Justin Taylor, and Jonathan Woody (returning after his performance in Couperin le Grand).
Vocalists will include Paulina Francisco (Esther & Soprano I (Moreau)), Jesse Darden (Ahasuerus), Jonathan Woody (Haman), Jacob Perry (Tenor II), Elisse Albian (Soprano, Soprano II (Moreau)), and Kristen Dubenion-Smith (Alto (Handel & Moreau)).
Mouret's 'Les Fêtes de Thalie'
Paulina is delighted to join Opera Lafayette singing the roles of Thalie and Leonore in modern premiere of Jean-Joseph Mouret’s 5 act opera Les Fêtes de Thalie — performances in Washington, D.C. May 3 & 4, and in New York City on May 7th.
True to its innovative roots, this present-day retelling cleverly swaps the original muses' debate over the qualities of comedy and tragedy for composers, librettists, and choreographers debating which of their art forms garners the best reviews!
With renowned conductor Christophe Rousset on the podium and Catherine Turocy directing, this witty, joyful, female-centric tale will have you laughing and cheering until the end. Thalie promises to uphold Opera Lafayette’s reputation as "one of the most creatively game and artistically sound operations in the business."(The Washington Post).
Thalie features a diverse and talented cast of American singers including Jonathan Woody (Opera Lafayette Artistic Associate), Angel Azzarra, Pascale Beaudin, Scott Brunscheen, Jean Bernard Cerin, Patrick Kilbride, John Taylor Ward, and Ariana Wehr. The production also includes eight dancers led by choreographers Anuradha Nehru, Pragnya Thamire, Julian Donahue, Julia Bengtsson, and Caroline Copeland.
Mouret's 'Les Fêtes de Thalie'
Paulina is delighted to join Opera Lafayette singing the roles of Thalie and Leonore in modern premiere of Jean-Joseph Mouret’s 5 act opera Les Fêtes de Thalie — performances in Washington, D.C. May 3 & 4, and in New York City on May 7th.
True to its innovative roots, this present-day retelling cleverly swaps the original muses' debate over the qualities of comedy and tragedy for composers, librettists, and choreographers debating which of their art forms garners the best reviews!
With renowned conductor Christophe Rousset on the podium and Catherine Turocy directing, this witty, joyful, female-centric tale will have you laughing and cheering until the end. Thalie promises to uphold Opera Lafayette’s reputation as "one of the most creatively game and artistically sound operations in the business."(The Washington Post).
Thalie features a diverse and talented cast of American singers including Jonathan Woody (Opera Lafayette Artistic Associate), Angel Azzarra, Pascale Beaudin, Scott Brunscheen, Jean Bernard Cerin, Patrick Kilbride, John Taylor Ward, and Ariana Wehr. The production also includes eight dancers led by choreographers Anuradha Nehru, Pragnya Thamire, Julian Donahue, Julia Bengtsson, and Caroline Copeland.
Mouret's 'Les Fêtes de Thalie'
Paulina is delighted to join Opera Lafayette singing the roles of Thalie and Leonore in modern premiere of Jean-Joseph Mouret’s 5 act opera Les Fêtes de Thalie — performances in Washington, D.C. May 3 & 4, and in New York City on May 7th.
True to its innovative roots, this present-day retelling cleverly swaps the original muses' debate over the qualities of comedy and tragedy for composers, librettists, and choreographers debating which of their art forms garners the best reviews!
With renowned conductor Christophe Rousset on the podium and Catherine Turocy directing, this witty, joyful, female-centric tale will have you laughing and cheering until the end. Thalie promises to uphold Opera Lafayette’s reputation as "one of the most creatively game and artistically sound operations in the business."(The Washington Post).
Thalie features a diverse and talented cast of American singers including Jonathan Woody (Opera Lafayette Artistic Associate), Angel Azzarra, Pascale Beaudin, Scott Brunscheen, Jean Bernard Cerin, Patrick Kilbride, John Taylor Ward, and Ariana Wehr. The production also includes eight dancers led by choreographers Anuradha Nehru, Pragnya Thamire, Julian Donahue, Julia Bengtsson, and Caroline Copeland.
Canoro pianto et affetti
Paulina in pleased to curate and design a program titled Canoro pianto et affetti for the 2023-2024 Chamber Series of the Washington Bach Consort.
Canoro pianto et affetti explores the musical world of 17th century women through songs for solo voice. As our canon of women’s music history continues to expand, so too does our awareness of the venues and spaces in which women worked and performed. Canoro pianto et affetti highlights the proliferation of women’s music making in sacred and secular spheres during the 17th century, and the increasing integration of women’s compositions within multi-composer printed collections.
This program was inspired by a 1613 printed collection titled Canoro pianto di Maria Vergine sopra la faccia di Christo estinto – “The singing cries of the Virgin Mary over the face of the deceased Christ.” The publication contains 24 compositions for solo voice and basso continuo, each labeled with a facial feature over which Mary weeps. The first half of the program will feature select monodies from the collection arranged into a song cycle, including two compositions attributed to Milanese nun Claudia Sessa. The second half of the program will feature secular monodies by women composers themed on the facial features highlighted in Canoro pianto.
Paulina Francisco, soprano
Paula Maust, harpsichord
Alexa Haynes-Pilon, viola da gamba
Deborah Fox, theorbo
Canoro pianto et affetti
Paulina in pleased to curate and design a program titled Canoro pianto et affetti for the 2023-2024 Chamber Series of the Washington Bach Consort.
Canoro pianto et affetti explores the musical world of 17th century women through songs for solo voice. As our canon of women’s music history continues to expand, so too does our awareness of the venues and spaces in which women worked and performed. Canoro pianto et affetti highlights the proliferation of women’s music making in sacred and secular spheres during the 17th century, and the increasing integration of women’s compositions within multi-composer printed collections.
This program was inspired by a 1613 printed collection titled Canoro pianto di Maria Vergine sopra la faccia di Christo estinto – “The singing cries of the Virgin Mary over the face of the deceased Christ.” The publication contains 24 compositions for solo voice and basso continuo, each labeled with a facial feature over which Mary weeps. The first half of the program will feature select monodies from the collection arranged into a song cycle, including two compositions attributed to Milanese nun Claudia Sessa. The second half of the program will feature secular monodies by women composers themed on the facial features highlighted in Canoro pianto.
Paulina Francisco, soprano
Paula Maust, harpsichord
Alexa Haynes-Pilon, viola da gamba
Deborah Fox, theorbo
WBC: Charpentier 'Te Deum'
Paulina looks forward to joining the chorus of the Washington Bach Consort for Charpentier’s Te Deum, under the musical direction of Dana Marsh.
Opera Lafayette - From Saint-Cyr to Cannons: Moreau and Handel’s Esther
Opera Lafayette presents From Saint-Cyr to Cannons: Moreau and Handel’s Esther in Washington, DC on February 8 and in NYC on May 9.
This orchestral concert with vocalists includes works by Jean-Baptiste Moreau (1656-1733) and George Frederic Handel (1685-1759), both connected to French dramatist Jean Racine’s play Esther, based on the Old Testament story. Moreau wrote the incidental music for Racine’s Esther, which was first performed at Maintenon’s school for girls in 1689, while Handel’s version is known to be his first English oratorio. The concert will be co-directed by harpsichordist and Opera Lafayette Artistic Associate Justin Taylor, and Jonathan Woody (returning after his performance in Couperin le Grand).
Vocalists will include Margot Rood (Esther), Jesse Darden (Ahasuerus), Jonathan Woody (Haman), Jacob Perry (Tenor II), Paulina Francisco (Israelite Woman, Soprano I (Moreau)), Elisse Albian
(Soprano, Soprano II (Moreau)), and Kristen Dubenion-Smith (Alto (Handel & Moreau)).
The Fairy Queen
Le Jardin des Voix 2023 continues its international tour of The Fairy Queen in 2024 with two performances at the Opéra de Massy on January 27 and 28, with musical direction by Paul Agnew
The Fairy Queen
Le Jardin des Voix 2023 continues its international tour of The Fairy Queen in 2024 with two performances at the Opéra de Massy on January 27 and 28, with musical direction by Paul Agnew
The Fairy Queen
Le Jardin des Voix 2023 continues its international tour of The Fairy Queen in 2024 with a performance at Auditorio Nacional de Música. Musical direction by William Christie