Berkshire Lyric Presents Saint Matthew Passion by J.S. Bach on May 31, 2026

Berkshire Lyric presents J.S. Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion on May 31 at 3:00, at Seiji Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood. Lyric’s long time Artistic Director Jack Brown conducts this annual Masterwork’s Concert with the 90 voice Berkshire Lyric Chorus, the Lyric Children’s Chorus a double orchestra and six international level vocal soloists. Making their debut with Lyric are soprano Nola Richardson and baritone Jesse Blumberg. Returning from recent engagements with Berkshire Lyric are soloists Dann Coakwell, Adriana Zabala, Sam Krausz and Douglas Williams.

This monumental work has been described as the greatest single work of music in the western canon. It combines all of Bach’s dramatic and poetic power to tell the Passion Week story of betrayal, judgment, sacrifice and death. Above all, it is the story of the ultimate power of love. It was not conceived as a concert work or as an opera, but as a transformative ritual that continues to reach across time and space. 

Berkshire Lyric is one of the oldest, largest and well-loved music organizations in Berkshire County. Recent concerts at Ozawa Hall have included large works by Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn and Brahms. They have been invited by the Boston Symphony to sing Faure with the orchestra this August at the Shed at Tanglewood.

Tickets for the May 31 Bach St. Matthew Passion concert are $40; children 6-18 admitted free (Children under 6 are not admitted). Advance ticket sales available through Berkshire Lyric’s website, www.BerkshireLyric.org, from chorus members or at the Ozawa Hall gate before the concert. Direct link: https://lyric.ludus.com/index.php

Contact: Kat Toomey, toome22k@mtholyoke.edu