In her eagerly anticipated return to Tafelmusik, the “jaw-dropping” (Boston Classical Review) soprano Amanda Forsythe gives voice to the powerful stories and perspectives of women.
The program features distinctive characters including Cleopatra, Judith, Alcina, Serpina, and Mitilene from operas, oratorios, and cantatas by Handel, Pergolesi, Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Telemann, and more.
Following our 2023 collaboration with the Art Gallery of Ontario’s exhibition Making Her Mark, our program focuses the spotlight on music by Jacquet de la Guerre’s contemporaries including gems by Camilla di Rossi, Mrs. Philharmonica, Maria Grimani, and Antonia Bembo.
Another source of historical female inspiration is virtuoso violinist Anna Maria della Pietà. The orphan protegée inspired Vivaldi to write extraordinary concertos dedicated to her among the many compositions he wrote for the acclaimed all-female orchestra of the Ospedale della Pieta, a home for abandoned children in baroque Venice.
Our celebration of female perspective and talent extends into the 21st century with a newly commissioned work by Métis composer Karen Sunabacka, set to text by her mother, the Métis writer Joyce Clouston. Known for her powerfully evocative music, “Sunabacka creates a brilliant sense of space” and “displays an incredibly in-depth knowledge of instrumental technique” (I Care if you Listen).