Ars Minerva is an American opera company founded in 2013 by

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

Céline Ricci. It is based in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, California. The company, run as a non-profit organization, produces little-known

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Italian opera Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ope ...

s researched by the founding director. They have been well received by audiences and critics.

Programming

2015

''La Cleopatra'' (1662) by Daniele da Castrovillari, libretto by Giacomo dall'Angelo. ''Cleopatra'' was performed at the Marines Memorial Theater in San Francisco, with the title role sung by Céline Ricci and Marc Antonio by

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a ...

Randall Scotting.

2016

''The Amazons in the Fortunate Isles'', or ''Le Amazone nelle Isole Fortunate'' (1679) by Carlo Pallavicino, libretto by C.M. Piccioli. The modern premiere of ''Amazons'' by Ars Minerva opened in May 2016. The opera had not been produced since its initial opening in 1679.

2017

'' La Circe'' (1665) by Pietro Andrea Ziani, libretto by

Cristoforo Ivanovich Cristoforo Ivanovich (1628–1689) was the first historian of Venetian opera, who also wrote several librettos of his own. Biography Ivanovich was born in Budva, Budua (Budva), at the time part of Venetian Albania (now southeastern Montenegro). A ...

. This production was given a circus-like staging at the ODC Theater in San Francisco.

2018

''Ifigenia en Aulide'' (1738) by

Giovanni Porta Giovanni Porta (c. 1675 – 21 June 1755) was an Italian opera composer. His opera '' Argippo'', to a libretto by Domenico Lalli, was premiered in Venice in 1717.Freeman, Daniel E. (1992)''The Opera Theater of Count Franz Anton Von Sporck ...

. This was the first 18th century opera the company produced. Soprano Aura Veruni sang the title role, with countertenor Matheus Coura as Teurco and Céline Ricci as Achille.

2019

''Ermelinda'' (1680), composed by Domenico Freschi, libretto by Francesco Maria Piccioli. This romantic Venetian opera is set in ancient Phoenecia. The title role was sung by soprano Nikola Printz.

2021

''Messalina'', composed by Carlo Pallavicino, libretto by Francesco Maria Piccioli. This production of the little known 17th century Venetian opera, a complicated farce with scenes in brothels and bathhouses, featured Aura Veruni in the title role, with Deborah Rosengaus as the Emperor Claudio, Shawnette Sulker as Floralba, and Kindra Schacter as Erginda.

References

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External links

* Ars Minerva website, https://www.arsminerva.org/. California opera companies Culture of San Francisco Entertainment companies based in California