Each cantata tells a story from the Old Testament, with recitative and 3 or 4 short arias. In each piece the singer, like all the best storytellers, moves between telling us a tale, and taking on the voice and perspective of the different characters: girls, women, husbands, fathers, Kings. Full of character, story and emotion, they are baroque operas but smaller, using only beguiling music and the skill of the performer to draw us in. They have never been presented by an opera company before, and we’re excited to develop them for the stage in new English translations by Toria Banks.
The cantatas will be performed by a stellar cast - Carolyn Sampson, Anna Dennis and Alys Roberts, accompanied by the renowned players of the Dunedin Consort and directed by Mathilde López, Artistic Director of August 012. Mathilde, Alys and harpsichordist Katarzyna Kowalik were selected for this project through a highly competitive open call process, completing our exceptional team.
