A musical journey following women who made a difference in the world of music and culture, from medieval times, through ancient eras to twentieth-century jazz
Over two days, audiences will encounter women who were creators, performers, queens and patrons, muses and heroines — women whose actions and presence shaped the music and culture around them. From ancient myths to twentieth-century jazz, from the salons of Vienna and Berlin to the stages of today, the festival encourages listening to voices that have reached us across time and explores how they continue to live, change and resonate today.
On the festival’s first day, Friday, October 16, audiences will travel from Greek mythology and Balkan sounds in “Daphnis and the winds of love: A Balkan Myth” to Renaissance and Baroque Spain in “Dulcinea, My Love,” inspired by Don Quixote. “A Woman’s Song” will then bring together seventeenth-century female voices addressing love, motherhood, war and peace, and the evening will conclude with High Heels, a female vocal jazz trio performing swing and arrangements in the spirit of the 1940s and 1950s.
On the festival’s second day, Saturday, October 17, “Vienna: Weimar: Siberia” we will follow the footsteps of women who influenced Mozart, Mendelssohn, the Bach family and others. “Strozzi” will be dedicated to the Venetian composer and singer Barbara Strozzi, while “The Golden Apple” will bring Baroque music together with biblical heroines from Eve to Esther. The festival will conclude with a festive closing concert by the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra, “Cleopatra and Giulio,” featuring mezzo-soprano Shaked Bar and conducted by David Shemer, exploring the figures of Cleopatra and Giulio Cesare in Baroque opera.
