Sarah Larsen (the Secretary) and Marcy Stonikas (Magda Sorel) in Menotti’s “The Consul”

This week’s featured concerts:

Feb. 26 – Mar. 7 — Winner of the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Music, Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Consul tells the story of a family struggling to obtain an exit visa in order to flee an oppressive government. Seattle Opera‘s first production of the mid-century masterpiece opened on February 22 and runs for another week.

Feb. 28 — The Early Music Guild hosts early music ensemble Hespèrion XXI. Founded in 1974, the international group of musicians specializes in the music of the Spanish renaissance. Their Seattle performance features songs from colonial South America, performed in collaboration with Mexican folklore group Tembembe Ensamble Continuo.

Mar. 1 — Wayward Music Series presents an evening of new chamber music by local composer Tom Baker. A host of Seattle musical luminaries will perform three of Baker’s recent works, including pieces for string quartet, percussion, woodwinds, and piano.

Mar. 1 – 2 — You heard Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at the Seattle Symphony last weekend. Next up, Pacific MusicWorks performs the St. John Passion with the same group of soloists, a rare chance to hear one of the composer’s greatest choral works sung by renowned Bach experts.