The Korrigan Consort is pleased to invite you to their 2020 opera collaboration, The Gentlewomen, a musical drama featuring Cesarina Ricci’s hitherto unperformed Il Primo Libro di Madrigali, songs by Barbara Strozzi and spoken word.

Truth is often darker than fiction. 6 months after the death of Duke Alfonso II at the Court of Ferrara, the Concerto Delle Donne gathers to perform one last time. Anna Guarini (daughter of the famed poet Giovanni Battista Guarini) has been murdered by her sadistic husband, Ercole Trotti. Laura Peverara, Anna’s fellow singer, is struggling to cope with the loss of her friend, the violence of court, and the fear of the unknown. Lucrezia D’Este, abuse survivor and embattled noblewoman, is back in Ferrara for the last days of the D’este regime. Through these women’s stories, we explore gendered violence and women’s resilience n in the last days of the D’Este court at Ferrara.