This June, Opera Lafayette presented a three-day Baroque Music Festival, “The Era of Marie Antoinette, Rediscovered” at El Museo del Barrio in New York City. The beauty of this music cannot be contested, and its relevance was underscored by Artistic Director Ryan Brown’s intelligent productions. The festival opened with a fully staged production of André Grétry’s “Silvain.” The French pastoral story was reconfigured to illustrate the battles for land rights in America’s Southwest, directed by Mexican filmmaker Tania Hernandez Velasco and starred Puerto Rican soprano Camille Ortiz. The second night offered “The Musical Salon of Marie Antoinette” featuring works by Gluck, Chevalier de Saint Georges, Hinner and more. A gala dinner at a private club followed the performance chaired by Nizam Kettaneh and Marifé Hernandez with a benefit committee boasting Annelyse and Freddy Allen, Tony Bechara, Catia Chaplin, Francis Dubois, Ishtar Méjanes, Lisette Prince, Barbara Tober, and Margo and Anthony Viscusi. Emily Rafferty was honored with the Opera Lafayette Leadership in the Arts Award. In their third and final evening, “Concert Spirituel Aux Caraïbes,” Pedro Memelsdorff, a musician scholar whose research focuses on 18th century music in French Caribbean colonies, led a program highlighting the complicated dynamics between imperial France and the peoples of the Caribbean. An integral part of the festival, Opera Lafayette created a commemorative book with essays by participating scholars and performers including Callum Blackmore, Julia Doe, Laurent Dubois, Rebecca Geoffrey-Schwinden, Kaiama Glover, Judith Miller, Maria Mondragon-Valdez, Tania Hernández Velasco, Sylvia Rodríguez and Caroline Weber.
Opera Lafayette’s festival featured a superb roster of international singers and musicians including Jacob Ashworth, Nathan Berg, Charles Brink, Sophia Burgos, Teresa Castillo, Sandrine Chatron, Sishel Claverie, Samantha Louis-Jean, Jehú Otero, Nicholas Phan, Zack Powell, Victor Sicard, Théotime Langlois de Swarte, Jonathan Woody and The Opera Lafayette Orchestra.
Opera Lafayette is the pre-eminent American interpreter and producer of period-instrument opera from the 17th through the 19th centuries and an international leader in this repertoire. Based on meticulous research and the creation of modern performing editions, the company’s compelling performances and recordings of rediscovered gems and historical masterpieces highlight the works’ original appeal and introduce a new generation to their contemporary relevance. Opera Lafayette is the only opera company to perform full seasons in both Washington, DC and New York City. For more information please visit operalafayette.org.
