La Giustizia

This program was conceived by Tamara Bernstein who is also the author of the following text:

Over a groundbreaking career that culminated on the bench of the US Supreme Court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020) embodied the ideals of justice, dignity, and integrity. During her last decade she became a cultural icon, affectionately dubbed “The Notorious RBG”; she was also a great lover of classical music.

L’Accademia de’ Dissonanti, joined by the celebrated mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabo, pays hommage to Justice Ginsburg in a sumptuous program that will also introduce the “RBG gamba”: an exceptional instrument by Karl Dennis for which artist Cathy Scanlan carved a stunning likeness of Justice Ginsburg as the decorative head.

The concert presents several baroque “takes” on Justice, from Benedetto Marcello’s luminous Salmi di Davide to a passionate but doomed appeal for divine justice from Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea. A commissioned work by Michael Oesterle for two violas da gamba, also inspired by the theme of Justice, will receive its world premiere.

And of course it wouldn’t be a baroque concert without the dark (but tempting!) obverse of Justice: Revenge, which will be thrillingly unfolded in Antonio Caldara’s cantata, Medea in Corinto.