Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Steven Mercurio - Georgia Shreve: Lavinia and Anna Komnene - Courageous Women of Antiquity (2022)

Tracklist

01. Lavinia - Oratorio in One Act: I. Overture
02. Lavinia - Oratorio in One Act: II. Lavinia
03. Lavinia - Oratorio in One Act: III. I Was Then King of Latium
04. Lavinia - Oratorio in One Act: IV. King Turnus
05. Lavinia - Oratorio in One Act: V. I Dreamed I Saw my Kingdom
06. Lavinia - Oratorio in One Act: VI. I Saw Great Ships
07. Lavinia - Oratorio in One Act: VII. I Will Keep and Cherish
08. Lavinia - Oratorio in One Act: VIII. The Enormous Roar of Men Shouting
09. Lavinia - Oratorio in One Act: IX. Finale
10. Anna Komnene - Oratorio in One Act: I. Overture
11. Anna Komnene - Oratorio in One Act: II. A Woman Wiser Than Men
12. Anna Komnene - Oratorio in One Act: III. Time in its Ceaseless Flow
13. Anna Komnene - Oratorio in One Act: IV. You Are So Just and Highly Esteemed
14. Anna Komnene - Oratorio in One Act: V. Growing Weaker Day by Day
15. Anna Komnene - Oratorio in One Act: VI. Your Beautiful Eyes are So Often Shining
16. Anna Komnene - Oratorio in One Act: VII. We Stayed by his Bedside
17. Anna Komnene - Oratorio in One Act: VIII. His Imperial Ring
18. Anna Komnene - Oratorio in One Act: IX. Finale

Lavinia and Anna Komnene are semi-operatic oratorios by Georgia Shreve that pay tribute to wise and strong women of antiquity. In the case of Lavinia, conceived by Virgil and fleshed out by novelist Ursula Le Guin, she stands up against kings and threats of war to marry Aeneas, the man she has chosen. In the case of Anna Komnene, her life was a testimony not just to her father, but to history, education and the potential power of women. Both texts are inspired by Homer’s Iliad, with the Aeneid and the Alexiad using parallel names.

Lavinia
This oratorio is a feminist take on the Aeneid and is focused on the third woman in Aeneas’s life, Lavinia. As Virgil was dying when he was writing this final section of the book, her presence is somewhat limited. However, author Ursula Le Guin put Lavinia in her novel in a more prominent and assertive role, here distilled into a libretto by Georgia Shreve. Merging Virgil’s original text with that of the novel, Shreve creates a vivid musical vision of the story. In the live performance setting, evocative artwork by Barnaby Fitzgerald features classical imagery reconceived with a contemporary vision, is presented in a video montage, providing a vivid backdrop. Lavinia, the only daughter of King Latinus of Latium, is pursued by many suitors who wish to take over the kingdom. Aeneas is urged by an omen to leave Dido and go to Latium to found Rome. This work brings to life the romance between Lavinia and Aeneas, and their conflict with King Turnus, an aggressive suitor who wages war to win her hand as a bride.

Anna Komnene
Anna Komnene was born in 1083 in Constantinople, the first-born child of Emperor Alexios, on whom her history is focused, who reigned over the vast Byzantine Empire from 1081-1118. Anna was a princess, scholar and physician. Also the likely first European female historian, she authored the Alexiad, a 10-volume history of the Byzantine era in which she lived. Almost a millennium since it was written, the Alexiad is considered one of the most reliable accounts of the era; it is a masterpiece of literary and historical writing and an exemplar of Thucydides. It is also the only Greek source on the first crusade. Like Lavinia, performances of Anna Komnene are accompanied by a video montage of the rich and glorious artwork of the Byzantine period, providing an inspiring canvas for imagining Anna’s colorful life.

Anna Komnene portrayed her family as supportive, loving and close. Her father, Alexios, put great faith in the strength and wisdom of women, granting his mother, and later his wife, the power to reign in his frequent absences and designating Anna as his successor. Anna, perhaps the earliest example of an intellectual woman balancing writing and family, may stand as the most highly educated woman not only of her time, but of history before her. For centuries, historians maintained that Anna had attempted to murder her brother to obtain the throne. In recent times, however, a growing number of female historians have proven her innocence. It took almost a millennium to clear her name. Shreve has distilled this fascinating history into a poetic libretto.

Anna was the emperor’s first-born child and at her birth he declared her the heir to his throne. But, as he lay dying, her younger brother John stole his imperial ring and with a combination of trickery and violence took over the royal palace and the imperial army. He then deprived Anna and her mother of all their assets and banished them to a convent.

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