Tragic Heroines - Musica Domestica

7.30pm
Tickets £12 / £1 discount for Dartington members / U18s £5

This outstanding quartet return with a programme of music from the late 17th and 18th centuries. Tonight's concert looks at the portrayal of the tragic heroine, exploring how Handel and his contemporaries so successfully conveyed the joys and also tragic fates of women including a look at the fates of Semele, Galatea and Armida, amongst others. Soprano Kate Semmens is joined by Steven Devine (harpsichord), Matthew Truscott (violin) and Rebecca Truscott (cello).

Kate Semmens
Kate is a soprano with a varied career, singing in opera and on the concert platform. She has sung with some of the most eminent choirs and consorts including the Monteverdi Choir, Gabrieli Consort, Dunedin Consort, and Taverner Consort. With these she has recorded several CDs and appeared in some of the world’s major concert halls and festivals. In opera, Kate has played many roles particularly in Baroque Repertoire including the title role in John Stanley’s ‘Teraminta’, Asteria in Handel’s ‘Tamerlano’, the title role in Mozart’s ‘Il Re Pastore’, and Sandrina in Haydn’s ‘L’infedelta Delusa’.

Steven Devine
Steven is co-principal keyboard player with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the harpsichordist with London Baroque and principal keyboard player for the Gonzaga Band, Apollo and Pan, and The Classical Opera Company. He has played and conducted in many of the world’s major concert halls and gives regular performances at the Royal Albert Hall. Steven has recorded many CDs, most recently the second volume of Bach’s harpsichord works for Chandos. BBC music magazine described it as ‘oozing virtuosic exuberance’ and Gramophone Magazine said his previous recording, the Goldberg Variations was ‘among the best’.

Matthew Truscott
One of the leaders of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Matthew is a versatile violinist who shares his time between period instrument and 'modern' performance. In demand as a guest leader, engagements have included projects with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, The English Concert, The King's Consort, Budapest Festival Orchestra, English National Opera, Dutch National Opera and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. He is also leader of St James' Baroque, Classical Opera and the Magdalena Consort.

Rebecca Truscott
Rebecca is a cellist hailing from Cornwall. She began her studies at Chetham's School of Music, continuing at the Royal Academy of Music and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. She has since performed with many of the UK's most prominent period ensembles including the Gabrielli Consort, the Hanover Band, Classical Opera Company and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, as well as groups abroad such as Musica Saeculorum in Italy and playing guest principal for Jordi Savall and le Concert des Nations.

For more information visit https://www.dartington.org/whats-on/event/?id=122199