Continuo Connect — Profile // HGOAntiqua Orchestra

HGOAntiqua Orchestra is the period-instrument ensemble used by HGO Trust Ltd in performances of 17th and 18th century opera. HGO Trust, founded in 1990, is a registered UK charity (no. 1168484) which supports young singers and musicians through high quality productions of opera and vocal music. It acts as a vital stepping-stone for young musicians entering a career in opera and concert.

HGO seeks to ensure that the musical experiences of all its productions match, as far as is possible, the intentions of their composers. So for our productions of pre-classical works we have sought in recent years to use period instruments for our accompanying orchestras and ensembles, under the name ‘HGOAntiqua’. This means that not only can we advance young singers, but also support young instrumentalists specializing in period instruments, and enable both singers and instrumentalists to experience together the pre-classical sound world of opera, with its use of continuo, different-timbred instruments and pitches appropriate to the period (A=415 or below).

Recent productions with HGOAntiqua Orchestra have included Cavalli's L'Egisto (8 performances, June 2021), Lidarti's Ester (1 performance, March 2022), and a double bill of Blow's Venus and Adonis and Purcell's Dido and Aeneas (8 performances, May 2022).

In May 2023 HGOAntiqua played in Handel's satirical opera Agrippina in 8 performances at Jacksons Lane Theatre London N6 to enthusiastic reviews – and now in April 2024 we will be playing in HGO’s inventive new production of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen