Molly Quinn, Jennifer Paulino, soprano; Virginia Warnken Kelsey, mezzo-soprano; Chloe Fedor, Gabrielle Wunsch, violin; Paul Dwyer, cello; Dongsok Shin, harpsichord; Daniel Swenberg, lute.

I: The Siren’s Song—Francesca Caccini
(the first opera composed by a woman)
Francesca Caccini, Overture and Siren aria from the Liberation of Ruggiero
Bellerofonte Castaldi, La Cecchina Corrente

II: Antonia Padoadi Bembo, the girl who sings
Early life and a bad marriage
Francesco Cavalli, Ahi ch’amarezza (Ercole amante “Hercules in Love” Act II, Scene V

Amphion, the accomplice—Francesco Corbetta
Francesco Corbetta, Sinfonia à due for guitar and continuo, Le Tombeau sur la mort de Madame d’Orleans, Non si può (Allemande)

Desperate measures: Escape and pleading to the King for refuge
Antonia Padoani Bembo, Habbi pietà di me-Chaconne

Antonia Bembo’s Harmonic Production
E ch’avete bell’ ingrate
Ha, que l’absence est un cruel martire (Air)
Pasithea’s sleep scene from Ercole Amante: Momorate o fiumicelli

III. Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre:
Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Trio Sonata

IV. Barbara Strozzi: La Virtuosissima Cantarice
L’Astratto—What shall I sing?

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