PAIN. PLEASURE. PERGOLESI. In January, Morningside Opera and SIREN Baroque team up to present a double-feature of two masterpieces by baroque composer Giambattista Pergolesi as you've never heard them before! For two performances only, this production reunites the original cast of Stabat Mater Fabulosa (first developed by Morningside Opera in 2012) and expands the evening to include chamber quintet from SIREN Baroque. This return engagement is paired with a new production of Pergolesi’s La Serva Patrona. Together, the two halves of PERGOLESI: POWER GAMES turn this famous music inside out, revealing a whole new world of meaning in these classic works.
Stabat mater (1736): back by popular demand! This lushly choreographed re-imagining of Pergolesi’s iconic sacred oratorio explores the work’s fetishization of female suffering. Promoting a fuller awareness of the power politics of beauty in our culture, this piece asks us to consider how women’s pain is intrinsic to our understanding of beauty. This piece is choreographed by baroque dance specialist Laura Careless and features Morningside Opera company members Brett Umlauf and Amber Youell.
La serva padrona (1733): a comic tale of the crafty maid servant Serpina who tricks her employer Uberto into marrying her, this popular intermezzo reworks themes of gender and power in a darkly funny key. While often presented as a light comedy, this production brings out the more serious underbelly of the story by delving into the modern world of BDSM culture. Recasting Serpina as a professional dominatrix, this work examines the complex dynamic of paying someone to order you around – who is really in control? This piece is directed by Morningside Opera artistic director Annie Holt and features company members Brittany Palmer and Michael Shaw.
