Musica Spira: An Extraordinary Innovation – Virtuosic Women in the Italian Courts

Please note: This concert has been moved to Saturday, May 7th @ 7:30 p.m.

Musica Spira’s artistic mission is to bring the underrepresented stories of early modern female musicians to life through programs that shed light on women’s multifaceted contributions to music history. Our program, “An Extraordinary Innovation,” celebrates the accomplishments of the virtuosic professional women singers in the Ferrarese concerto delle donne. Amateur women had performed in the Court of Ferrara for some time, and in the early 1580s, Duke Alfonso II hired highly-skilled professional women singers to entertain his elite guests. Singing works by Luzzasco Luzzaschi, these extraordinary women were immediately successful, garnering a wide audience and commanding astonishing performance fees. In his personal account of attending a concert, Giustiniani wrote that “The ladies of Ferrara were highly competent and vied with each other not only in regard to the timbre and training of their voices, but also the design of exquisite passages delivered at opportune points.” Music for three virtuosic sopranos quickly became a trend in various Italian courts and remained popular throughout the seventeenth century. Courts competed with one another to win the best singers, and composers were commissioned to write new music for them. Our program includes works by Luzzaschi, Claudio Monteverdi, Barbara Strozzi, Luigi Rossi, and Francesca Caccini that were inspired by performances given by Laura Pevarara, Anna Guarini, and Livia d’Arco, the most renowned sopranos in the Ferrarese concerto delle donne.

Suggested Donation $15-$20 taken at the door, cash and PayPal accepted

Youtube Teaser: https://youtu.be/wkmbhucs2d0