San Francisco Girls Chorus and Ars Minerva Co-Present Vivaldi's Juditha Triumphans
San Francisco, CA – October 30, 2020 - The San Francisco Girls Chorus (SFGC) joins forces with Ars Minerva on Friday, November 20 at 7:00 p.m. with a unique video project that combines excerpts from Antonio Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans alongside arias by women composers of the Baroque era. Rather than a virtual approximation of a more traditionally staged performance, this presentation will adapt carefully-curated selections from Juditha Triumphans into a virtual production and documentary featuring video clips, artwork and movement edited by One to One Box videographer Mike Axinn. SFGC Artistic Director Valérie Sainte-Agathe and Ars Minerva Stage Director and Artistic Director Céline Ricci welcome Bay Area harpsichordist Corey Jamason as guest artist in a program that also features Barbara Strozzi’s Cosi non la voglio and Mercé di voi as well as Isabella Leonarda’s O dilecto O amatissime Jesu. This virtual performance will be livestreamed on YouTube and is free to watch with a suggested donation of $25.
Written in 1716, Juditha Triumphans is Vivaldi’s only surviving oratorio. Based on the Old Testament story that highlights Judith’s triumph over the invading Assyrian general Holofernes and his army, Juditha Triumphans was commissioned by the Republic of Venice to mark the victory over the Ottoman Empire in Corfu that same year. The work was written to be performed by the women of the L'Ospedale della Pietà in Venice, an institution that served as an orphanage for girls as well as a music conservatory where Vivaldi served as violin master.
SFGC Artistic Director Valérie Saint-Agathe
“Collaborations with high profile artists and ensembles from all over the world is one of the hallmarks of our work at SFGC and this upcoming production with Ars Minerva, one of the finest baroque ensembles here in the Bay Area, is testament to that,” said Artistic Director Valérie Saint-Agathe. “Although concert halls remain temporarily closed, we are excited to explore new opportunities that we can share with our audiences. This particular production is one that I am extremely proud of because it has truly been adapted specifically for the times in which we currently live.”
Ars Minerva Artistic Director Céline Ricci
“The story of Judith is a legacy of empowerment, strength and independence that women have passed to each other since the ancient times,” said Ars Minerva Artistic Director Céline Ricci. “The choristers of SFGC will go through this journey as the young orphan girls of L'Ospedale della Pietà in Venice did 300 years earlier when they premiered this work. Due to the pandemic, they have experienced the learning of this piece in isolation, similar to the isolation that the choristers of La Pietà undoubtedly experienced during their lifetimes.”
SFCM Chair of Historical Performance Corey Jamason
Reflecting a season that includes numerous guest artists and collaborations throughout virtual events, masterclasses and workshops, this performance features Ars Minerva as co-presenter. Led by mezzo-Soprano Céline Ricci, Ars Minerva has been described by the San Francisco Chronicle as an “intrepid local company” and praised for “taking on the mission of rescuing forgotten Baroque operas from the shadows.” This season, Celine Ricci also serves as one of SFGC’s Soloist Intensive Instructors. Also featured as guest artist is GRAMMY-nominated harpsichordist and SFCM Chair of Historical Performance Corey Jamason. Described by the Los Angeles Times as displaying “the careful, due balance of objective detachment and lofty passion,” Jamason appears with numerous Bay Area ensembles including American Bach Soloists, Philharmonia Baroque and the San Francisco Opera, among many others.
This performance is free and open to the public with a suggested ticket donation of $25 to offset the cost of video production and guest artist appearances. All donations in support of this event will be split between SFGC and Ars Minerva. Guests are invited to reserve their ticket at http://www.sfgirlschorus.org.
CALENDAR EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE:
San Francisco Girls Chorus and Ars Minerva Present
Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans
Friday, November 20, 7:00 p.m.
San Francisco Girls Chorus YouTube Channel
Valérie Sainte-Agathe, SFGC Artistic Director
Céline Ricci, Ars Minerva Artistic Director
Corey Jamason, harpsichord
Mike Axinn, videographer
Antonio Vivaldi: Juditha Triumphans
Barbara Strozzi: Cosi non la voglio
Barbara Strozzi: Mercé di voi
Isabella Leonarda: O dilecto O amatissime Jesu
This event is free with a suggested donation of $25. Reservations can be made online at http://www.sfgirlschorus.org.
About San Francisco Girls Chorus
Stunning range, flexibility, drama, and power are among the hallmarks of the 42-year-old San Francisco Girls Chorus’s Premier Ensemble, recognized as one of the world’s leading youth vocal ensembles. Led by Artistic Director Valérie Sainte-Agathe, the Premier Ensemble has achieved an incomparable sound that underscores the unique clarity and force of impeccably trained treble voices.
Highlights from the 2019-2020 season include a fully-staged choral music and dance co-production with Berkeley Ballet Theater featuring two world premieres by Angélica Negrón and Aviya Kopelman, commissioned and co-commissioned with the Israel Institute, respectively; a debut appearance at San Francisco’s renowned Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in collaboration with Kronos Quartet; and the ensemble’s first-ever Virtual Festival featuring three unique live-streamed performances. Additional highlights from recent seasons include a July 2019 tour of England and France that featured six performances in London, Windsor, Cambridge, and Paris; debut performances in February 2018 at Carnegie Hall alongside Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble; and an April 2017 debut performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with The Knights for SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras. SFGC has also traveled the world as a musical ambassador for San Francisco, with tours to the Nordic countries, Germany, Japan, China, South Korea, and Cuba, and performed for the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama.
Praised by Gramophone Magazine as a “remarkable tapestry of teenage voices,” SFGC has been a champion of the music of our time since its founding, having commissioned more than three dozen works by leading composers including Philip Glass, Richard Danielpour, Aaron Jay Kernis, Gabriel Kahane, Augusta Read Thomas, and Chen Yi.
In September 2019, SFGC released its most recent album, My Outstretched Hand, on Supertrain Records featuring The Knights and Trinity Youth Chorus. The album includes world premiere recordings of choral-orchestral works by three American composers, Lisa Bielawa, Aaron Jay Kernis and If I Were Not Me by Colin Jacobsen. Further demonstrating its commitment to the music of today, SFGC’s February 2018 album release, Final Answer, includes works by nine living composers, among them Philip Glass, Aleksandra Vrebalov, Lisa Bielawa, John Zorn, and Gabriel Kahane. The Premier Ensemble has been a recipient of numerous music industry awards, including five GRAMMY Awards, four ASCAP/Chorus America Awards for Adventurous Programming, and the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence from Chorus America.
In addition to its Premier Ensemble, SFGC is renowned as a regional center for choral music education and performance for girls and young women ages 4-18. Hundreds of singers from 46 Bay Area cities participate in this internationally-recognized six-level Chorus School, hailed as “a model in the country for training girls’ voices” by the California Arts Council. Launched in March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, SFGC created an innovative Online Learning Program that utilizes technology to bring choral music education to the homes of choristers across the Bay Area.
For more information, visit http://www.sfgirlschorus.org.
ABOUT ARS MINERVA
Ars Minerva is a San Francisco-based, performing arts organization created in 2013 by Céline Ricci. Its mission is to engage new audiences for classical music through innovative productions of Baroque operas. Ars Minerva is proud to bring forgotten music back to life, in collaboration with artists in the San Francisco Bay Area. Reviving Baroque operas is a rare and captivating experience, which we are happy to share with the diverse local community. Since its inception, Ars Minerva has presented the modern world premieres of five long-forgotten Venetian operas in San Francisco.
March 2015: La Cleopatra, composed by Daniele da Castrovillari for the 1662 Venice carnival season.
May 2016: The Amazons in the Fortunate Isles, composed by Carlo Pallavicino in 1679.
September 2017: La Circe, composed by Pietro Andrea Ziani in 1665.
November/December 2018: Ifigenia in Aulide, composed by Giovanni Porta in 1738.
November 2019: Ermelinda, composed by Domenico Freschi in 1680.
In addition, Ars Minerva has collaborated with other Bay Area organizations such as Humanities West, The Museum of Performance + Design, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, and The Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco, the Lick Observatory and the Ruth Asawa School for the Arts.
PHOTO CREDITS
San Francisco Girls Chorus / Carlin Ma
Valérie Saint-Agathe / Joe Fanvu
Céline Ricci / Ars Minerva
Corey Jamason / SF Conservatory of Music
PRESS CONTACT
Brenden Guy, Marketing & PR Consultant
(415) 640-3165
brendenguy@gmail.com
marketing@sfgirlschorus.org