Ars Minerva Presents the Modern World Premiere of 1738 Opera

Ars Minerva, a five-year-old nonprofit acclaimed for its resurrections of forgotten operas from the Italian Baroque, has announced its fall presentation: Giovanni Porta's IFIGENIA IN AULIDE, which runs for two nights only, November 30 to December 1, at ODC Theater in San Francisco. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. This will be the opera's first staging since its premiere in Munich in 1738. Tickets, $25 - $250, are now on sale at odc.dance/tickets.

Based on Euripedes' tragedy, Iphigenia in Aulis, Porta's opera dramatizes an episode during the Trojan War when King Agamemnon is compelled to sacrifice his daughter Ifigenia to the goddess Diana so that the Greek army may set sail for Troy. With a libretto by Apostolo Zeno, the opera was a rousing success at its premiere at the 1738 Munich Carnival.

"Despite the beauty of the music, Ifigenia in Aulide has not been staged since its creation," said Ars Minerva Executive Artistic Director Céline Ricci. "But this is the joyous mission of Ars Minerva: to bring to life musical gems like Porta's Ifigenia in semi-staged productions which are, in effect, modern world premieres."

Ricci, a distinguished mezzo-soprano herself, directs as well as performs, this time in the role of Achille. Derek Tam returns to conduct Ars Minerva's period instrument orchestra. Tam will also perform on harpsichord.

In addition to Ricci, members of the cast include Matheus Coura(countertenor) in the role of Teucro; Spencer Dodd (baritone) in the role of Arcade; Cara Gabrielson (soprano) in the role of Elisena; Kevin Gino (tenor) in the role of Ulisse; Nikola Printz (mezzo-soprano) in the role of Agamennone; Shawnette Sulker (soprano) in the role of Clitennestra; and Aura Veruni (soprano) in the role of Ifigenia.

Joining Tam in the orchestra are Cynthia Black, concertmaster; Erik Andersen, Natalie Carducci, Laura Rubinstein-Salzedo, Anna Washburnand Aaron Westman, violins; Gretchen Claassen, cello; and Paul Psarras, theorbo.

Members of the creative team include Jack Beuttler (lighting design), Nicole Spencer Carreira (projections design), Joe McClinton (translations), Matthew Nash (costume design) and Elisabeth Reeves (stage management).

Since 2013, Ars Minerva has presented modern world premieres of three long-forgotten operas: La Cleopatra, composed by Daniele da Castrovillari; The Amazons in the Fortunate Isles, composed by Carlo Pallavicino; and La Circe, composed by Pietro Andrea Ziani.

"As well as being Baroque masterpieces in their own right, each of these operas features strong women, and Ifigenia follows their lead," said Ricci. "What does it mean to sacrifice a woman for an army of men? How does it feel to be that woman?"

Prior to the staged performances on November 30 and December 1, Ars Minerva will present a concert version with select passages from the opera on November 9 at First Congregational Church in Berkeley. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. First Congregational Church is located at 2345 Channing Way. For more information visit ArsMinerva.org.

For its production of Ifigenia in Aulide, Ars Minerva is grateful for funding from the Sam Mazza Foundation.

ABOUT ARS MINERVA

Founded in 2013 by Céline Ricci, Ars Minerva is a San Francisco-based nonprofit with a mission to revive forgotten operas from the Baroque period. In addition to presenting one opera each year, Ars Minerva also runs a youth outreach program based at the Ruth Asawa School for the Arts.

Photo: Aura Veruni is Ifigenia. Photo by Olivier Allard.

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