The Dryden Ensemble Presents QUEEN CHRISTINA GOES TO ROME

The Dryden Ensemble presents "Queen Christina Goes to Rome," a dramatic retelling of the story of the unconventional Swedish queen on Saturday, January 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 6587 Upper York Road, Solebury, Pennsylvania, and on Sunday, January 20 at 3:00 p.m. at Miller Chapel, located on the campus of Princeton Theological Seminary, 64 Mercer Street, Princeton, New Jersey. General admission tickets are $25 per concert and student tickets are free with a valid ID. Tickets may be purchased online at drydenensemble.org or at the door.

Queen Christina, one of the most learned women of the 17th century and a great patron of the arts, abdicated at the age of 28, giving up her throne for a life of music, art, and religion in Rome. The concert features Roberta Maxwell as Queen Christina and Paul Hecht as narrator in dramatic readings from the letters and diaries of Queen Christina of Sweden and other historical figures, including the French philosopher Descartes. The music mirrors Christina's journey from Stockholm via Innsbruck to Rome, with excursions to Paris and Hamburg, and ending in Rome. An ensemble of oboe, violins, viola da gamba, lute, and harpsichord will perform chamber music by Buxtehude, Louis Couperin, Schmelzer, Corelli, Scarlatti, and Pasquini.

Known to Princeton audiences for the role of Edna in Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance at McCarter Theatre in 2013, Ms. Maxwell has performed with Ethan Hawke in Chekhov's Ivanhov at Classic Stage in NY, on Broadway in Equus, Othello, Henry V, and The Merchant of Venice, and Off-Broadway in Stevie, Ashes (Obie Award), Mary Stuart, A Whistle in the Dark (Obie Award) and many others. Her credits include national tours of Lettuce and Lovage, and regional theater productions at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Tyrone Guthrie Centre, the Old Globe Theatre, and others. She has also performed for television and in movies, including Popeye, Psycho III. Philadelphia, Dead Man Walking, and BrokebackMountain. She will be appearing in Percy, a movie starring Christopher Walken, recently filmed in Winnipeg.

Mr. Hecht has performed extensively on stage, in movies, and for television. He made his debut on Broadway as the Player in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead (Tony nomination). Other Broadway appearances include: Night & Day with Maggie Smith, Invention of Love (Tom Stoppard), 1776 (original company), The Rothschilds, Shaw's Caesar & Cleopatra, and Pirandello's Henry IV (both with Rex Harrison). TV Audience members may recognize him from his appearances over the years as Charles in Kate & Allie and as several unsavory characters on Law and Order.

Named in honor of John Dryden, the English poet laureate whose words inspired Baroque composers including Purcell and Handel, the Dryden Ensemble specializes in performing music of the 17th and 18th centuries on period instruments. A line from Dryden's Song to St. Cecilia captures the essence of baroque music and the ensemble's philosophy: "What Passion cannot Musick raise and quell!"

The Dryden Ensemble is a not-for-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and a registered charity in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

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