Marvelous Dust
A musical vanitas, this program explores 17th-century perspectives
on the concept of nothingness, a popular subject in early modern
Europe. Music written by female composers forges a particularly
interesting relationship to the trope of nothingness, as physical
beauty has traditionally been the standard by which female worth
is judged in the Western world. This program explores the transient
nature of this marker of worth from female perspectives, presenting
little-known music by female composers such as Strozzi, Leonarda and Cozzolani.
Et in Arcadia Ego
Escape the harried life of the 21st-century by stepping into the mythical
world of Arcadia. This program combines pastoral music and poetry from
the 16th- and 17th-centuries to evoke the world of graceful nymphs and
amorous shepherds. Charites performs music by Youll, Morley, Blow, Purcell,
Luzzaschi and Caccini, inviting the audience to participate in humorous
excerpts from John Weldon's Judgment of Paris.
Alcide al Bivio
Charites joins forces with cast of talented guest artists to present
the modern premiere of Johann Adolf Hasse and Pietro Metastasio's
festive 1760 opera, Alcide al bivio, an allegorical battle between Virtue
and Pleasure. Directed by Sarah Meyers of the Metropolitan Opera, this
program features dancers, elaborate costumes and a chamber orchestra
conducted by Mark Seto.
Snow White
Charites collaborates with Company XIV, a Baroque inspired dance/theater
company, for Snow White, part of the dazzling and dangerous Apple Trilogy.
Based on the Brothers Grimm's classic tale, this humorous and dark production
appeals to children and adults alike. Charites provides live music, performing
works by Handel and Bellini, as well as Yiddish folk music and original compositions.
The Lais of Machaut
The most celebrated composer of the fourteenth century, Guillaume de Machaut was
also a poet who sought to foster a close alliance between text and music in his
works. Machaut’s lais - narrative poems on chivalric themes sung throughout -
exemplify this relationship, using ars nova techniques to elevate the genre to
new levels of sophistication. Charites performs these rarely-heard works, evoking
an elegant chivalric tradition.