Location
with Tracy Cowart, mezzo-soprano; Nathan Hodgson, tenor; Rachel Evans and Leah Nelson, baroque violins; Hsuan-Wen Chen, harpsichord; Richard Kolb, theorbo, archlute, and baroque guitar; Anne Trout, violone
Seventeenth-century Venice was one of the most important centers of musical activity in all of Europe. The most prestigious of all musical events were lavish operas meant to display princely wealth and sophistication. Before the introduction of commercial opera, these were rare events seen only by the most well-connected members of elite society. Yet the taste for staged or partially staged musical performances was widespread throughout all levels of society, particularly in Venice where the Carnival season attracted visitors from all over Europe. This performance is a re-creation of an entertainment that might have taken place in one of the Venetian palazzos during the mid-1630’s. Over the course of an evening, two lovers, Licori and Titiro, will find their way through a series of mishaps and reunions through arias and duets by some of the most famous Venetian composers of the day.
