SalON Demand! And Yet She Persisted: Women in Classical Music

Opening Festival Opera's 2021 season, two internationally renowned artists team up for an exquisite program of music by women composers. Soprano Carrie Hennessey and pianist Jennifer Reason bring their special brand of joyous synergy to the digital recital stage, sharing their insight, artistic flair, and sublime musicality. “And Yet She Persisted” explores the powerful and diverse world of female composers. You will bask in beautiful melodies and harmonies crafted by Pauline Viardot and Amy Beach. Composer Libby Larsen unmasks the infamous gun wielding Calamity Jane that we perhaps picture in our minds with settings of intimate and honest letters to her daughter toward the end of her life. Jane is revealed in her soaring truth, strength and vulnerability. Julia Seeholzer’s cycle “ Portraits of Disquiet” was originally composed in reaction to the 2016 U. S. presidential election. She could not have known that it would feel even more potent in our present day. As a trans-woman who was raised in the Mormon tradition, the poet, Kendall A. remains off the grid quite purposefully. The first song of this ground breaking cycle is deeply personal, a letter to her mom and dad. The second piece follows as a community outcry for the devastation of Ferguson in 2014. Kendall heightens the drama with quotes directly from Dante’s Inferno in Italian. Barbara Strozzi’s Lagrime Mie, a baroque lament is musically quoted in Seeholzer’s opening line. Her scope broadens even further In the third song, to encompass the wonder and the great tragedy of life; of humanity marching forward through space and time. Ms. Hennessey will return later in the Festival Opera season to perform Jake Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus with Jake Heggie at the piano. She is a beloved artist in our community and known for her dramatic ability and fearless commitment to contemporary and rare repertoire. Tickets for FO’s SalON Demand are available for $40 per household which will give you an HD video link, available on demand to stream to your digital devices and smart TV. ​ Following this digital release, a live chat with the artists and Festival Opera’s General Director, Zachary Gordin will be hosted by Ruchi Kapila on Facebook Live. Ticket buyers will receive an invitation to this live chat event. Join us, pour yourself a glass of wine or your favorite beverage and tune in for this fun and inspiring discussion! * This series of piano/vocal recitals will be produced in accordance with strict COVID-19 testing and safety measures. The safety of our artists will be secured and assured without compromise. ​