Barbara. Virtuosissima Cantatrice
Anime Specchianti

Anime Specchianti

Chiara Nicastro, soprano

Valeria Montanari, harpsichord 

Rosita Ippolito, viola da gamba

Francesca De Lorenzi, voice

Giorgia Massaro, dancer

Concert-performance dedicated to Barbara Strozzi

Testi a cura di C. Nicastro

Musiche di C. Monteverdi (1567-1643), G. Frescobaldi (1583-1643), B. Strozzi (1619-1677)

30’ | Admission with museum ticket

In the Sala dei Fiumi, music, dance, and words intertwine to bring the audience back to the seventeenth century, a period of true sonic revolution that still influences the way we perceive music today as an emotional and expressive experience. It is the century of Monteverdi’s seconda prattica, which marks the shift toward music in service of the text, amplifying its meaning and expressive force; it is also the century in which the so-called aesthetics of the affections invites performers to greater interpretative freedom, encouraging listeners to experience musical emotions directly, without rigid adherence to tempo.

Within this context stands the figure of Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677), a leading voice in seventeenth-century vocal music and a rare example of a successful female composer in a male-dominated environment. Gifted with great originality and compositional skill, she established her own distinctive style, breaking free from the social and gender conventions of her time.

The immersion in the Baroque atmosphere is made even more vivid by the outstanding performance of the ensemble Anime Specchianti: the voice of Chiara Nicastro together with Rosita Ippolito on viola da gamba and Valeria Montanari on harpsichord. The spoken voice of Francesca De Lorenzi and the choreographic movement of Giorgia Massaro complete the journey, offering the audience an immersive experience in the expressive and aesthetic sensibility of the period. There is no more fitting place than the Palazzo Ducale of Mantua to fully grasp the essence of these transformations.

Text by Martina Sangermano