Third Coast Baroque's 'Lucifera' To See Return of Mezzo-Soprano Vivica Genaux and Music Director Rubén Dubrovsky April 29-30 in Evanston and Chicago

International opera star to sing Baroque arias portraying
cutting-edge female characters in period-instrument performances
helmed by Chicago ensemble's Argentina-born,Vienna-based conductor

Chicago early-music ensemble Third Coast Baroque will mark its pandemic-delayed return to full-scale mainstage productions with "Lucifera: Illuminating the Darkness," a new project conceived and headlined by mesmerizing mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux, with the period-instrument Third Coast Baroque Orchestra, led by its Argentina-born, Vienna-based music director Rubén Dubrovsky conducting from the colascione, a lute-like instrument rarely seen in North America.

“Lucifera” takes its name from the mythical feminine “bringer of light,” Genaux says.

Through a carefully curated program of arias, Genaux sets out to illuminate some of Baroque opera’s darker, bolder, and more complexly rendered female protagonists and their struggles.

“The women of ‘Lucifera’ are multifaceted and strong,” Genaux says. “Through this beautiful music, they display their emotions in the deepest possible manner, illustrating their suffering, their remorse, their indignancy, and their fury in the face of darkness.”

Performances are 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 29, 2022, at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, Illinois; and 5 p.m. Saturday, April 30, at First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple, 77 W. Washington St., 2nd Floor, Chicago.

Mezzo-soprano Angela Young Smucker, Third Coast Baroque’s executive director and co-founder, says “Lucifera” exemplifies the organization’s intent to “reframe early music,” in this case by eschewing the “happy endings” required of Baroque operas due to social and political constraints.

“With this program, Genaux expresses the depth and range of emotions felt throughout today’s uncertain and troubled world,” Young Smucker says. “And she accomplishes this with astonishing musical virtuosity and vocal athleticism.”

The program includes arias from operas by Pietro Torri, Johann Adolph Hasse, Carlo Francesco Pollarolo, Giovanni Bononcini, Leonardo Vinci, and Giovanni Porta.

Bononcini’s “Si, quei ferri a me rendete” and Torri’s “Barbaro, va a provare” “show female characters “taking things into their own hands and stepping forward into the fray,” Genaux says. Porta’s “Affani del pensier” and Bononino’s “Lasciami un sol momento” are plaintive and filled with pathos. Assertive or analytical arias like Vinci’s “So che il riso e so che il vezzo” examine conflicts of the heart.

Some pieces will be receiving their modern-day premieres, according to Third Coast Baroque.

The orchestra will open the program with the Overture to Nicola Porpora’s 1735 opera “Polifemo” based on characters from Greek mythology. Midway through the second half they’ll play Francesco Durante’s Concerto No. 2 in G minor for strings and continuo.

“Lucifera” will mark Genaux’s first return to Chicago since she performed with Third Coast Baroque in its critically acclaimed “Vivica and Vivaldi” presentation, applauded as one of “The 10 best classical concerts of 2018” by the Chicago Tribune.

Dubrovsky’s last Chicago appearance was in November 2019 with Third Coast Baroque.

Concertgoers will experience the exhilaration they’ve come to expect from Third Coast Baroque productions, Young Smucker says. “With Maestro Dubrovsky back on stage with our ensemble, conducting and playing the colascione and engaging in dynamic interplays with his fellow artists, it’s easy for audience members to get swept up in the good-natured, virtuosic energy.” 

Tickets and Information

Admission to “Lucifera” is $60 per person for premium seating. General admission is on a “Name Your Price” basis to provide accessibility to a broader audience. Suggested payment is $45 per person, with a $5 minimum. Ticket holders will be able to attend the concerts in person and will also have access to an on-demand video stream.

Online-only access tickets, providing access solely to the on-demand video stream, are available. Suggested payment is $20 per person, with a $5 minimum.

All tickets, as well as information about the audience COVID-19 protocols, are available at https://www.showclix.com/events/30363.

Vivica Genaux

Mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux has been hailed by The New York Times as “an international star, particularly in the early-music world” and a singer whose “voice is as striking as her looks.” The Times marveled at “the runs of coloratura that she releases with jackhammer speed, gunfire precision and the limpid continuity of spring raindrops.”

Since her professional debut as Isabella in Rossini’s “L’italiana in Algeri,” her career has taken her from her native Alaska to many of the world’s most prestigious theaters and concert venues, including New York’s Metropolitan Opera, London’s Barbican, Prague’s Rudolfinum, and the Wiener Staatsoper

Encompassing music from five centuries, her repertoire is anchored by lauded portrayals of Baroque and bel canto roles.

She is a passionate advocate for the renewal of interest in the music of Hasse, and her efforts were recognized by Johann Adolf Hasse-Stiftung with the 2019 Hasse-Preis. She received the City of Halle’s Händel-Preis in 2017, expanding a gallery of prizes that includes the 1997 ARIA Award, New York City Opera’s 2007 Christopher Keene Award, and Pittsburgh Opera’s 2008 Maecenas Award.

Rubén Dubrovsky

Born in Buenos Aires to a Polish-Italian family, Rubén Dubrovsky has developed a celebrated musical career in Europe and the Americas. His dedication to Baroque music and his exploration of Latin American musical traditions resonates in his work as a conductor and multi-instrumentalist. As founder and artistic director of Chicago’s Third Coast Baroque and Vienna’s Bach Consort Wien, he has realized the modern premieres of forgotten masterpieces and has reimagined well-loved works in new contexts for today’s audiences.

He conducts regularly at Vienna Musikverein and Händelfestspiele (Halle) and has worked as a guest conductor at the Bolshoi Theater, Semperoper Dresden, Oper Köln, Palau de les Arts Valencia, and Theater an der Wien, among others. Collaborators include Bernarda Fink, Michael Schade, Vivica Genaux, Andreas Scholl, and Franco Fagioli. He has recorded with Sony, Harmonia Mundi, and Gramola.

Third Coast Baroque

Third Coast Baroque  comprises “Chicago's most accomplished period instrumentalists and singers” (Chicago Tribune). Under the artistic direction of Rubèn Dubrovsky, TCB reframes how audiences experience early music through dynamic performances, collaborations, and education. “Call it baroque musicology made painless” (Chicago Tribune), TCB has been devoted to exploring diverse 17th and 18th century music from around the world since its inception. TCB has presented the Chicago and North American premieres of works by beloved composers and recently rediscovered masters. Drawing upon today’s finest early music specialists, the Third Coast Baroque collective is composed of the TCB Chamber Ensemble, TCB Voices, and TCB Orchestra. Past performances have included the Chicago premiere of Handel's first oratorio (Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno) and collaborations with internationally renowned musicians. Founded in 2016, TCB engages audiences through collaboration with organizations in Chicago and across the country, and through educational enrichment and community engagement for music lovers of all ages. TCB’s mission is to share the aesthetic of Baroque music while unlocking its relevance for today's audiences. TCB is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. www.thirdcoastbaroque.org