Gerrod Pagenkopf, countertenor; Kimberly Moller, soprano
Pablo Bustos, tenor; Michael Maniaci, male soprano
Laura Gulley, Asako Takeuchi, violins
Jane Starkman, viola; Janet Haas, violone
Christine Gevert, harpsichord & organ
Laury Gutiérrez, viola da gamba, director

Tickets: Preferred reserved seating $35 - General seating $20
students/low income $10.00 - Under 18 years old, Harvard, Brandeis ID, FREE

Tickets: online through MKtix,
by mail download Concert Ticket Order Form
by phone 617.461.6973.

PAST EVENTS
2011

Passionate Enemies:
Women Composers at the Rival German Courts
of Frederick the Great and the House of Hapsburg

La Donna will present music by women composers at the rival German courts of Frederic the Great and the House of Hapsburg. Powerful foes on the battlefield, the zeal for victory extended to the salon, where passions ran high and nothing was spared in their lavish quest of the arts. Music by Frederic’s sister, Wilhelmine, and Anna Bon goes up against Hapsburg-sponsored Camilla de Rossi and Maria Teresa Agnesi.

Shari Wilson, soprano; Daniela Tošic, mezzo-soprano; Laura Gulley & Adele Ohki, violins; Margaret Angelini, harpsichord; Laury Gutiérrez, viola da gamba, director Tickets $20 (students & senior citizens $15)

La Donna Musicale will celebrate Women’s History Month with the performance of highlights from Sofonisba, a story of power, love, lust and pride by 18th-century Italian composer Maria Teresa Agnesi. Don’t miss this modern premiere on Friday, March 25, and Saturday, March 26, 2011.

Internationally renowned sopranist Robert Crowe joins rising stars contralto Renee Rapier, mezzo-soprano Mary Gerbi, and tenor Pablo Bustos in this extraordinary drama; leading the ensemble is 2009 Radcliffe fellow Laury Gutiérrez. Mr. Crowe, the first male soprano to be a National Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Competition, is described by the New York Times as “a male soprano of staggering gifts.” Ms. Rapier recently won the Metropolitan Opera Regional Competition and will go on to the finals in New York before our concert. Ms. Gerbi’s ensemble, Cut Circle, won the 2010 Noah Greenberg award from the AMS, and Mr. Bustos is a finalist at the Bach Festival’s International Bach Aria Competition.

In 1739 a Milanese newspaper praised Maria Teresa Agnesi “for her wonderful ability in Music, by playing on the harpsichord the most difficult compositions written by her with such speed and harmony that all those present were sweetly entranced and full of admiration, especially his Royal Highness”. This was typical of the praise she garnered at Academic gatherings hosted by the Agnesi family, where dignitaries, nobles and scholars mingled for cultural exchange and entertainment. The “dramma eroico” Sofonisba, one of her major compositions, is dedicated to the powerful queen Maria Theresa of Austria, and it is reported that the Queen herself sang some of Agnesi’s arias.

Agnesi’s compositional style is that of the pre-classical period. It is full of vitality, intense emotional mannerisms and expression represented in the skillful use of harmony, and the sometimes unusual use of the semitone. The arias are delightfully memorable and dramatically moving.

Renee Rapier, contralto
Robert Crowe, male soprano
Pablo Bustos, tenor
Mary Gerbi, mezzo-soprano
Sarah Darling, Laura Gulley, violins; Jane Starkman, viola
Na'ama Lion, flute
Ruth McKay, harpsichord; Janet Haas, violone
Laury Gutiérrez, viola da gamba, director

This concert is presented to celebrate Early Music America's 25th Anniversary.

Our program features Ulysses, an epic hero whose story is popular among writers from ancient Greece to the present. On his long journey home from the Trojan War terrible trials befall him: wanderings, shipwrecks, captivity, endless labor, temptations. Each time he is delivered by divine intervention, and finally he returns home in triumph. He is remembered for his guile and resourcefulness, military and diplomatic cunning, hedonistic personality, and perseverance in the face of trials.

Two women composers set aspects of this story to music: the French Baroque composer Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre in her cantata Le Sommeil d'Ulisse and the pre-Classical Italian composer Maria Teresa Agnesi in her serenata Ulisse in Campania. Join us for a musical taste of adventure and victory!

Viva le Italiane! 18th-Century Italian Women Composers
Friends of Chamber Music in Troy, New York

Sunday October 17, 4:00 PM
Kiggins Hall, Emma Willard School in Troy, New York
285 Pawling Avenue (Route 66) in Troy, NY.

Some historians refer to the 18th century as the “Age of Women.” This was especially true in the Austrian Lombardy, which exhibited progressive and enlightened views on women and society. A good example is Maria Teresa Agnesi, a native of Milan who found patronage and an appreciative audience in Lombardy (and elsewhere in Europe). Agnesi’s patrons included Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, whose father, Leopold I, was one of Mozart’s patrons. Similarly, Anna Bon enjoyed the patronage of another prominent German woman, Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia. The third featured composer, Maddalena Lombardini, left her native Italy in order to find musical success elsewhere in Europe as a composer and performer. The works on this program range from delightful arias and overtures from Agnesi’s serenata, Ulisses in Campania, and Anna Bon’s praise to the virgin Mary, to virtuosic sonatas and trios by Bon and Maddalena Lombardini performed on period instruments.

Renée Rapier, contralto
Sarah Darling, Laura Gulley, violins; Jane Starkman, viola
Ruth McKay, fortepiano; Janet Haas, violone
Laury Gutiérrez, viola da gamba, director

Society for Historical Performance
Summer Series Concerts, presents
Viva le Italiane! (Program II)
18th-Century Italian Women Composers

Tuesday June 22, 2010 at 8:00 PM
St. Peter's Church, 320 Boston Post Rd., Weston, MA

Wednesday June 23, 2010 at 8:00 PM
The Chapel At West Parish, 129 Reservation Rd., Andover, MA

Thursday June 24, 2010 at 8:00 PM
Linsey Chapel, Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury St., Boston, MA

A rare chance to hear instrumental and vocal music, including several world premieres, by three 18th-century composers: Maria Teresa Agnesi, Maddalena Lombardini, and Anna Bon. Some historians refer to the 18th century as the “Age of Women.” This was especially true in the Austrian Lombardy, which exhibited progressive and enlightened views on women and society. A good example is Maria Teresa Agnesi, a native of Milan who found patronage and an appreciative audience in Lombardy (and elsewhere in Europe). Agnesi’s patrons included Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, whose father, Leopold I, was one of Mozart’s patrons. Similarly, Anna Bon enjoyed the patronage of another prominent German woman, Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia. The third featured composer, Maddalena Lombardini, left her native Italy in order to find musical success elsewhere in Europe as a composer and performer. The works on this program range from delightful pastoral arias to the more typical Italian drama of unrequited love, interspersed with instrumental music.

Christine Faulkner, soprano
Laura Gulley, Sarah Darling, violins
Akiko Sato, fortepiano
Janet Haas, violone
Laury Gutiérrez, viola da gamba, director

Saturday, June 19, 2010. Doors open at 11:30am and the event concludes at 6pm. Tickets are general admission: WGBH Member Ticket $10; Non-Members $20.00

Come celebrate 99.5 All Classical’s new place in the cultural life of New England!
It’s a classical music experience unlike any other: demonstrations, displays, and performances all designed to put you at the center of the music.

La Donna Musicale will perform
two 30-minute shows at 3:30 and 5:30 PM

Fraser Performance Studio, WGBH Radio
One Guest Street, Boston, MA

Viva le Italiane! (Program I)

Some historians refer to the 18th century as the “Age of Women.” This program features works by three woman composers of the time:  Wilhelmine, Princess of Prussia and Margravine of Bayreuth, Anna Bon, and Maria Teresa Agnesi.Featured soloist will be the internationally acclaimed soprano, Julianne Baird, accompanied by an ensemble performing on period instruments.

Julianne Baird, soprano
Laura Gulley, violin; Joyce Alper, oboe
Ruth McKay, organ; Akiko Sato, harpsichord
Janet Haas, violone; Laury Gutiérrez, viola da gamba, director

CD RELEASE BRUNCH CELEBRATION
Anna Bon: La virtuosa di Venezia

Admission is free. Space is limited, please reserve by April 30th.
Join us in celebrating the release of our newest CD, featuring exquisite music by 18th-century Italian composer Anna Bon, as well as music by Bon’s employer, Wilhelmine, Princess of Prussia and Margravine of Bayreuth, among others. Preferential seating and signed CDs available with a donation supporting our mission to preserve and perform music by women composers. For more information, please write to us at ladonna@ladm.org, or call us at 617-461-6973.

We look forward to celebrating with you!

Sarah Bellott, Daniela Tosic, Renne Rapier, voices
Na'ama, Lion, flute
Sarah Darling, Laura Gulley, violins; Jane Starkman, viola
Ruth McKay, harpsichord, organ, Akiko Sato, harpsichord, fortepiano
Janet Haas, violone; Laury Gutiérrez, viola da gamba, director