Baroque Masterwork Concert: "Ester, Liberatrice Del Popolo Ebreo"

About Baroque Masterwork Concert: "Ester, Liberatrice Del Popolo Ebreo"

Join members of the Camerata Grimani chamber ensemble for a live performance unlike no other!



The oratorio bubbles with excitement.
–Allan Altman, American Record Guide

This performance proclaims that Ester slumbers in darkness no longer.
–Joseph Newsome, Voix des Arts

A musical recovery, that of this forgotten oratorio, shamelessly extroverted and of great communicative relevance.
–Marçal Borotau, Sonograma



In celebration of the critically-praised Navona Records release of the first and only complete recording of Ester, Liberatrice Del Popolo Ebreo ("Esther, Liberator of the Jewish People") by Alessandro Stradella (1639–1682), members of the original cast reunite for a special performance of this 1673 masterwork in honor of the Purim holiday.

Exploring themes of courage, self-acceptance, ambition, justice, and power, Stradella’s Ester tells the story of a timid girl, secret Jew, and Persian Queen who summons the bravery to save her people from annihilation. While the oratorio, a large-scale musical narrative, derives its plot from the biblical story of The Book of Esther, modern audiences will surely find resonance and relevance in the journey of a lone woman who triumphs over tyranny.

Originally intended to be played in a Baroque palace for an aristocratic Catholic audience, this bracingly innovative work composed by a volatile genius was largely lost to time before its recent rediscovery and revival. Join us on Sunday, March 8th at 3pm as Stradella’s Ester resounds again in the Museum at Eldridge Street's magnificently restored 1887 Main Sanctuary.



Musicians:
Ester: Jessica Gould, soprano
Speranza Celeste: Sonia Tedla, soprano
Mardocheo: Kinneret Ely, countertenor
Aman: Gabriele Lombardi, baritone
Assuero: Salvo Vitale, bass
Members of the Camerata Grimani chamber ensemble