Abstract
The Baroque in Dresden – this is the theme for the second Orchestra La Scintilla concert of the 2019/20 season, which will take place on March 9. The concert will feature concerti and arias from four different Baroque-era composers: in addition to Johann David Heinichen, Francesco Maria Veracini, and Georg Philipp Telemann (who were all in Dresden around the same time) a special spotlight will be on Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745), the «Bohemian in Dresden» – a composer who eluded justly-deserved fame in his own lifetime. He joined the court orchestra as a double bass player, and composed a number of works for the ensemble, for which he was named «church composer». Although he never won the title of «Kapellmeister» – an honor that went instead to Johann Adolf Hasse – Zelenka stayed in Dresden until he died. His music is virtuosic, unimaginably original, and, for the Baroque style, incredibly modern.
This is already the second concert that the Orchestra La Scintilla will present under the direction of conductor and violinist Riccardo Minasi. Irish soprano Anna Devin will sing arias from the oratorio Gesù al calvario as well as from the wedding composition Il Diamante by Zelenka. Anna Devin is no stranger Zurich: she thrilled audiences in the 2018/19 season as Rosane in Vivaldi’s La verità in cimento at the Opernhaus Zürich.
Join us for this musical evening that will transport audiences back to the Baroque era in Dresden and present four different composers.