The Cecilia Series

presents

The Cult of the Soprano

In 16th century Italy a young duchess was bored…. and so begins the tale of the moment when new music written for sopranos to entertain the unhappy duchess “revolutionized for all time Western attitudes toward the voice.” The Cult of the Soprano traces the journey the female voice took from the sensual to the lethal. It begins with the luscious Italian trios of the late 16th c, to the irony laden solo cantatas of 17th c Venetian composer Barbara Strozzi. The program culminates with opera arias by Handel, Mozart and Donizetti who gave their sopranos not just super-human music to sing, but unleashed dark and powerful female characters on to the stage.

Join the Cecilia Series as we explore all the high notes and the story of how the showstopper arias from The Magic Flute, Alcina, and Lucia di Lammermoor came to be. Featuring sopranos Victoria Botero, Kayleigh Aytes and Sarah Tannehill Anderson.