Our Festival—A Celebration of Women—will be an inspiring week honoring the work of women musicians both living and departed, as well as poets, painters, librettists, actors, scholars, publishers, dedicatees, and patrons, in addition to administrators, directors, and theater technicians, reminding us that women have been an integral part of classical music all along!

2023 Centerpiece Opera: Circé
After the divine sorceress Circé welcomes Ulisse and his weary companions to her island home, the forces of love, magic, and fate clash and threaten to ensare them all. First performed in 1694 at the Paris Opera, Circé features a libretto by renowned poet Louise-Geneviève Gillot de Saintonge. Be captivated as this epic adventure comes to life on stage with opulent, period-inspired costumes, brilliant Baroque dance, breathtaking sets, and utterly gorgeous music.

2023 Chamber Opera: Alcina
Francesca Caccini was one of the most important musical figures in Florence during the earliest years of opera as an art form, and in 1625, she created the first opera by a woman composer, La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina. At the center of this brilliant, witty entertainment is a struggle of illusion and destiny as the sorceress Alcina stands between the valiant magician Melissa and her quest to save the warrior Ruggiero.