Video Spotlight

Celebrating their 50th birthday this fall, the legendary singers of The Tallis Scholars are back at BEMF on Friday, December 8 with a glorious program that tells the Christmas story from the perspective of the shepherds who came to the manger. Enjoy an excerpt from their December 2020 Virtual Concert for BEMF, Guerrero's Ave virgo sanctissima.

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"Arguably the most important and influential
Early Music event in the world." —BBC Radio 3

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Celebrate the Season with The Tallis Scholars

Celebrating their 50th birthday, the legendary singers of The Tallis Scholars make their 35th annual appearance for  BEMF with a glorious program that tells the Christmas story from the perspective of the shepherds who came to the manger.
Friday, December 8
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BEMF Chamber Opera Series presents The Dragon of Wantley

It's Monty Python meets Handel with the most popular operatic production of the entire 18th century in England. Enjoying a 45-year run. John Frederic Lampe deftly lampoons the excesses of Handelian opera in this hilarious farce of 1736. The Virtual Premiere is Saturday, December 9!
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Enjoy a Virtual Concert with I Gemelli

Join of duo of ideally matched tenors as Emiliano Gonzalex Toro and Zachary Wilder bring racy and voluptuous timbres to some of the most beautiful songs of the Italian Baroque. Streaming Now!
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In response to the coronavirus/COVID-19, BEMF has temporarily closed our administrative office. BEMF administrative staff are working remotely for the immediate future. If you have any Box Office questions, please email Corey King, Box Office and Patron Services Manager at corey@bemf.org. For general questions, please email bemf@bemf.org.

Save the dates for our next Festival—June 8–15, 2025

Who We Are

Since 1981, the Boston Early Music Festival has established itself as an international leader in the field of Early Music. BEMF presents a wealth of diverse programs and activities, including superb productions of Baroque opera, award-winning recordings, an annual concert season that brings the field’s brightest stars to Boston and New York City, and North America’s leading festival for Early Music.

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Baroque Opera

“An absolute delight.” —The New York Times

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Celebrated Concerts

Our annual concerts feature some of the world's most exciting and engaging Early Music artists!

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2025 Festival

Save the dates for our 23rd biennial Festival—June 8–15, 2025.

Award-Winning Recordings

In 2004, BEMF initiated a series of recordings to preserve its groundbreaking Baroque opera creations and attempt to fill the gaps in the current discography of Western opera. The series features one GRAMMY Award-winning and five GRAMMY-nominated recordings.

COMING SOON!

After the divine sorceress Circé welcomes Ulisse and his weary companions to her island home, the forces of love, magic, and fate clash and threaten to ensnare them all. Released alongside BEMF's fully staged North America premiere!

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“One of the nation’s foremost Early Music organizations.” —The New Yorker

Meet Our Artistic Leadership

BEMF's Artistic Leadership Team, Gilbert Blin, Robert Mealy, Melinda Sullivan, Paul O'Dette, and Stephen Stubbs

BEMF Opera productions reproduce the Baroque’s stunning palette of sound by bringing together today’s leading operatic superstars and a wealth of instrumental talent from across the globe. Leading the Artistic Team are GRAMMY-winning Artistic Directors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs alongside Opera Director Gilbert Blin. Rounding out the leadership are Orchestra Director Robert Mealy and Dance Director Melinda Sullivan.

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The Boston Early Music Festival is supported in part by:
National Endowment for the Arts
Mass Cultural Council
Constellation Charitable Foundation
ArtsBoston
Cambridge Community Foundation

"A constant delight of anticipation." —The Wall Street Journal