TENET Vocal Artists Performs the Story of Mythological Heroine Ariadne

TENET Vocal Artists – the acclaimed early music ensemble led by Artistic Director Jolle Greenleaf – concludes its fall 2024 concerts with Ariadne Unbound, a performance curated by Elisa Sutherland on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at 6:00 pm at Park Avenue Christian Church with stage direction by Alyssa Weathersby.

In this concert, TENET retells the story of the Cretan princess Ariadne in a lively and dramatic pastiche of 17th-century Italian music. With an intimate cast of six, each singer embodies the main characters of Ariadne, Theseus, and the inhabitants of the island of Naxos. The tale is told through duets, arias, madrigals, and opera scenes by Francesca Caccini, Sigismondo D'India, Barbara Strozzi, and Claudio Monteverdi.

"I am thrilled to share Ariadne Unbound, a beautifully curated program by Elisa Sutherland, as it offers a surprising and powerful telling of Ariadne's story through 17th-century Italian repertoire” Artistic Director Jolle Greenleaf remarks. “Featuring guest curators is a primary focus of TENET's activities for the 2024-25 season because it gives our audience a chance to hear our exploration of new ideas and interpretations of beloved gems from the baroque with an all-star cast of singers and players. It's just one of the many ways TENET works to highlight our artists through their many creative abilities. Ariadne Unbound stands as our most robust project of the season! “

"The idea for this program came from my love of 17th-century Italian laments,” shares curator Elisa Sutherland. “The most famous is Monteverdi's 'Lamento d'Arianna,' an excerpt from his lost opera telling the myth of Ariadne and Theseus. I loved the idea of reconstructing this particular story, but I wanted to feature a lament written by a woman, and I was thrilled to discover Francesca Caccini's devastating Lasciatemi qui solo. The rest of the storyline grew organically from there. The myth is told by our excellent cast of six singers who, through solos, duets, and quartets, each embody Ariadne, Theseus, and the inhabitants of the island of Naxos. By staging this pastiche, we're hoping the audience will be able to fully enter into the story, and feel like they are living these events on the island with the characters. We also hope that by showing the story through movement, the audience will be able to focus on the remarkable 17th-century poetry.”

This concert will be viewable online from November 30, 2024–January 30, 2025.

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