Opening Concert
French cantatas by Nicolas Bernier and Michel Pignolet de Montéclair
FR 6. Sep. 2024 | 16:30-17:30
Inner Courtyard of the Servite Church (in case of rain at Sommerchor)
Timeless subjects from ancient mythology make a new appearance in French cantatas - the opening concert of ViertelBarock offers the unique opportunity to experience two Cantates Françaises in Vienna. The compositions, conceived as mini-operas based on Ovid's Metamorphoses, will be interpreted by mezzo-soprano Lucija Varcic and ensemble freymut. A special feature is the rarely heard historical pronunciation of the cantata text in Old French. Monteclair's "Pan et Syrinx" and Bernier's "Médée" present two female figures that remain highly controversial in our times.
GOURMET TIP
Enjoy a refreshing summer drink at the festival stand by Plain Vienna before and after the concert!
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Lucija Varsic, Mezzo-soprano
Croatian mezzo-soprano Lucija Varsic received her MA Vocal Performance 2022 and her MA Historical Performance Practice 2024 at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW). Lucija's great passion is early music in particular. She has developed into a sought-after baroque singer and works with ensembles such as Concentus Musicus Wien, Concerto Stella Matutina, and Freund(t) Ensemble. As a concert singer, Lucija is active in both lieder and oratorio. Bach's oratorios and passions are just as much a part of her standard repertoire as Mozart's masses and numerous cantatas. In September 2023, she sang Vivaldi's Nisi Dominus with the Freund(t) Ensemble at the Baroque Festival in Klosterneuburg Abbey Church. She has also toured with Company Of Music, singing a variety of baroque and contemporary programs in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
She has a close working relationship with Concentus Musicus Wien and its conductor Stefan Gottfried, under whose direction she has already sung numerous concerts. Some notable performances include Haydn's Theresienmesse at the Vienna Musikverein and the Musikverein Graz in October 2023, Handel's Dixit Dominus at the Festival Stift St. Florian in July 2023, and her debut at the Vienna Musikverein in January 2023 with the program Vivaldi-Marcello. Lucija has also performed at the International Baroque Days at Melk Abbey, where she took part in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in 2022 and sang the closing concert with the program Handel-Scarlatti in 2023.
© Sofija Palurovic
In April 2024 and 2022, she sang concerts with Concentus at the International Harnoncourt Days in Attergau. With her baroque ensemble L'Aimable, she toured Austria with two concert programs, Paris mon amour and Tu Felix Austria. In May 2024, they were finalists in the International Schmelzer Competition. In Bregenz in March 2023, she played Anna Kennedy in Donizetti's Maria Stuarda at the Vorarlberger Landestheater. In summer 2021, she took on the role of Asteria in Gluck's La Corona with the Teatro Barocco ensemble. At the Jennersdorf Summer Festival, she sang Ecclitico in Haydn's Il mondo della luna and Bastien in Mozart's Bastien und Bastienne. In Vienna, she has appeared in several MDW opera productions: Matilde in Purcell's King Arthur, Second/Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi, Dorabella in Così fan tutte and Dido in Dido and Aeneas.
Helga Korbar, baroque violin
Helga Korbar studied violin at the Academy of Music in Zagreb with Prof. Leonid Sorokov. Through the Erasmus program, she continued her studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Prof. Kees Koelmans. After graduating in Zagreb in 2017, she completed her master's degree with Prof. Peter Brunt in Amsterdam in 2019. In 2020, Helga Korbar moved to Austria to study baroque violin at the Mozarteum in Salzburg with Prof. Hiro Kurosaki. Further studies followed at the Concerto Köln Academy and the Accademia Melicensis. She has been a member of the Croatian Baroque Ensemble for ten years and has performed as a soloist in works by Vivaldi, Corelli and Bach. Helga has also participated in radio and television productions and played at numerous charity concerts. The violinist has won several competitions as a soloist and chamber musician. In her Baroque career, she has worked with ensembles such as Accademia dell' Annunciata, Wrocław Baroque Orchestra and Concerto Köln and performed at renowned festivals such as the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music. As a scholarship holder of the International Music Academy in the Principality of Liechtenstein, she regularly deepened her musical skills.
© Zvonimir Ferina
ensemble freymut
Die Wiener Musikgruppe ensemble freymut hat sich in den vergangenen Jahren in der Alte Musik Szene einen Namen gemacht, indem sie musikalische Brillanz mit einem ausgeprägten Innovationsgeist erfolgreich kombiniert. Mit der neuen Projektreihe HORIZONS - Alte Musik INNOVATIV möchten die Musiker*innen dem Wiener Publikum die Alte Musik mit drei ausgefallenen musikalischen Programmen näher bringen. In der Saison 2022|23 war ensemble freymut Featured Ensemble der Jeunesse Österreich und reiste mit drei Programmen durch Österreich. Im Jänner 2023 debütierte es mit seinem Kinderprogramm Freyen Muthes durch die Welt im Wiener Konzerthaus und übernahm im selben Jahr die künstlerische Leitung des Festivals ViertelBarock im 9. Bezirk.
© Theresa Pewal
Konzerte führten die Musikgruppe u.a. nach Chuncheon (Südkorea), Berlin, Magdeburg, Köln, Salzburg und ans Wiener Konzerthaus. Seit 2024 ist ensemble freymut Mitglied von REMA, dem größten Netzwerk für Alte Musik in Europa und wird durch das von der EU teilfinanzierte Förderprogramm S-EEEmerging unterstützt.
Artists
Ching-Yao Wang, Baroque Flute
Helga Kobar, Baroque Violine
Maria Danneberg, Viol
Sobin Jo, Harpsichord
Lucija Varsic, Mezzo-soprano
