Arts & Events

Mezzo-soprano Céline Ricci, founding director of Ars Minerva, brought members of her troupe to the Italian Cultural Institute in San Francisco on Wednesday evening, March 28, for a program of arias from Italian Baroque Opera. The concert was entitled Women of the Mediterranean, and it paid tribute to strong women characters in Italian Baroque opera. Accompanied by Derek Tam on harpsichord, Céline Ricci, soprano Aura Veruni, and mezzo-soprano Kindra Scharich performed arias in Italian by composers such as Francesco Cavalli, Pietro-Andrea Ziani, Carlo Pallavicino, Giovanni Porta, Claudio Monteverdi, and George Friedrich Handel.  

After a brief welcoming introduction by Paolo Barlera, director of the Italian Cultural Institute, Céline Ricci gave a brief overview of the work of Ars Minerva. Illustrating her talk were projected photographs from the operas Ars Minerva has already produced in San Francisco, namely, La Cleopatra (1662) by Daniele da Castrovillari (given here in 2015), Le Amazone nelle Isole Fortunate (1679) by Carlo Pallavicino (given here in 2016), and La Circe (1665) by Pietro-Andrea Ziani (given here in 2017).  

Following this brief talk, soprano Aura Veruni stepped forward and introduced herself as Cleopatra, the character who sings the aria Piangerò la sorte mia from Handel’s Giulio Cesare. Veruni, a soprano with a bright, crystalline tone, navigated Handel’s coloratura passages with superb artistry as she communicated the pain and resentment felt by Cleopatra at her sudden loss of both lover and power. Next on the program was Céline Ricci singing Porgetemi la spada from the opera Didone by Francesco Cavalli. Queen Dido, Ricci explained, was founder of the great Phoenician colony of Carthage in North Africa, but she was devastated when her lover Aeneas abandoned her in order to fulfill the prophecy that he would found Rome. Céline Ricci sang with great feeling the tragic loss felt by Dido and her resolve to commit suicide as the ships of Aeneas sailed away to Rome. 

Mezzo-soprano Kindra Scharich next stepped up to sing Dammi sospiri from La Circe by Pietro-Andrea Ziani. Ms Scharich’s lush, dark tone conveyed quite expressively the pain in this character’s cruel fate. Following this came Céline Ricci singing Sibillando, ululando from Handel’s Teseo. This aria, Céline Ricci explained, is sung by Medea, a violent character who murdered her own children. “Don’t mess with me,” Céline Ricci warned us as Medea, “or I’ll kill you.” Her aria was, as to be expected, full of agitated coloratura, sung both vehemently and beautifully by Ms Ricci. Now Aura Veruni returned to the podium to sing Fortuna se vuoi from Le Amazoni nelle Isole Fortunate by Carlo Pallavicino. This aria, unlike most of the others on this program, was full of sweetness and light, beautifully performed by Aura Veruni. 

Following this aria came three arias sung by Céline Ricci: Taci, troppo dicesti from La Circe by Pietro -Andrea Ziani , Vanne pur from Messalina by Carlo Pallavicino, and Nel sen di donna imballe from Messalina by Carlo Pallavicino. The first two arias were songs of rancor at betrayal, while the third was a coy put-down of men by the beautiful and audacious Messalina, who wandered the streets of Rome naked, her body bathed in gold. Next came Kindra Scharich performing Ottavia’s farewell to Rome from Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea. This tragic lament was movingly sung by Ms Scharich. The closing aria was Ifigenia’s Madre diletta abbracciami from Giovanni Porta’s Ifigenia in Aulide, sung beautifully by Céline Ricci. Incidentally, late this Fall Ars Minerva will present a revival of this 1738 opera at ODC Theatre in San Francisco’s Mission District. Don’t miss it! Céline Ricci and her Ars Minerva company are a cultural treasure, and we are lucky indeed to have them here in the Bay Area.