URI artist teacher mezzo-soprano Caroline O'Dwyer and bass-baritone Devon Russo present three unique vocal chamber works that explore the interplay between Western Classical Music and Greek Mythology:

Joseph Haydn’s secular cantata Arianna a Naxos (1789) depicts the Theseus myth from his lover Ariadne’s point of view, after she finds herself deserted by Theseus on the island of Naxos. It explores themes of love, trauma, and abandonment as well as the inherent dangers of what Joseph Campbell calls the “hero’s ego”  ;  Jonathan Dove’s one-act opera L’altra Euridice (2001) tells the traditional Orpheus myth with its universal themes of love, death and the power of music, but in a radically altered account of the transpiring events, reversing Orpheus’ and Plutone’s roles as hero and villain ;  Benjamin Britten’s dramatic cantata for mezzo-soprano, Phaedra (1976), revisits the Theseus myth from his wife, Phaedra’s point of view, exploring themes of lust, desire, despair, and moral virtue. Originally composed for mezzo-soprano and a small orchestra, this will be performed in a version for voice, piano, and percussion. 

Featuring:

David Gilliland (piano, harpsichord)
Kyle Forsthoff (percussion)
Joe Bentley (bass)
Jane Murray (oboe)
Luis Viquez Cordoba (conductor)