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Telemann’s Don Quixotte in Magdeburg

Telemann's timeless one-act opera about the unexpected participation of the tragicomic couple Don Quixote and Sancho Panza at a wedding in a rural setting—which is ultimately happily averted—perfectly demonstrates that true comedy unfolds in the details and their high-quality execution. This begins with the subtle humor of Daniel Schiebeler's libretto (revised by Telemann for composition), which effortlessly interweaves Arcadian, bourgeois-moral, and Enlightenment elements, ultimately elevating wisdom not only to the status of superiority over wealth but to the highest virtue. A perfect setup, and perhaps a fountain of youth, for the compositionally mature 80-year-old Telemann—Schiebeler was just 20 when he wrote the libretto, only seven years older than Telemann's grandson, Georg Michael.

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March 20

Telemann's Don Quixotte in Magdeburg

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April 24

Mozart's Idomeneo with Boston Baroque