Sunday, March 1, 2020

Ars Minerva Announces Annual Visit to IIC

Bowl with the image of Minerva, probably dating from the first century BC (photograph by Andreas Praefcke, from Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

[updated 3/10, 7:45 a.m.: This event has been postponed. The new date has not yet been set. The necessary information will be provided when it becomes available.]

For several years the Italian Cultural Institute (Istituto Italiano de Cultura, IIC) has hosted an annual visit by mezzo Céline Ricci. Regular readers probably know by now that Ricci is the founder and Artistic Director of Ars Minerva, which has established itself as a producer of historically-informed staged performances of operas that pre-date the Classical period. This year she will make her visit on the first day of the week-long Etruscan festival Quinquatria. Appropriately enough, this festival was dedicated to Minerva, celebrating rites of women’s rebirth in conjunction with the spring equinox.

As usual, Ricci will use her visit to discuss Ars Minerva’s future projects. As in the past, this will include performances of vocal music, featuring soprano Aura Veruni and mezzo Kindra Scharich accompanied at the harpsichord by Kelly Savage. The composers to be featured will be Claudio Monteverdi, Antonia Bembo, and Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre. Lisa C. Pieraccini will provide historical context for Quinquatria. Artist Entropy will also be on hand to discuss future plans for Ars Minerva set designs.

This presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 19. It will probably last for about two hours. IIC is located in the Civic Center at 601 Van Ness Avenue, Suite F. Admission is free, but registration is required to assure having a place. IIC has created a registration page specific for this event. Anyone who registers may also add the names of a maximum of two additional guests. Those wishing further information may call IIC at 415-788-7142.

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