Dear Friends of La Cetra Barockorchester & Vokalensemble Basel
Dear audience
Look forward with us to inspiring programmes and brilliant new discoveries, top-class soloists and exceptional young talents, intimate concert moments and baroque joie de vivre with the musicians of La Cetra!
We span almost 200 years with three of the most monumental sacred works in music history: Monteverdi’s Marian Vespers, Bach’s St John Passion and Mozart’s Requiem. Our season opens with Spanish countertenor Carlos Mena, who has been associated with La Cetra for almost 15 years and will perform Vivaldi’s famous Stabat Mater with La Cetra.
In November, the programme includes the “most legendary fragment of church music”: Mozart’s Requiem, appropriately combined with Haydn’s impressive Mourning Symphony.
After the great success of our last Monteverdi CD with the “Vespro di Natale”, we dedicate ourselves to Monteverdi’s “Marienvesper” for this year’s Advent concert.
In February at the Stadtcasino: the first “Sternstunde Barockoper” with the German-Italian masterpiece “Dido, Queen of Carthage” by Christoph Graupner and an outstanding cast of singers.
During the Passion season, we celebrate 300 years of the St. John Passion, and Antonio Vivaldi’s (concert) opera “Arsilda” brings the season to a furious close. La Cetra will be represented here for the first time in the Vivaldi edition of the “Naïve” label.
Our “Wellness” concerts will also be starting a new round in autumn. Take the opportunity to do something good for your soul and book a “Wellness” appointment!
In addition to our own concert series in Basel, La Cetra will be performing throughout Europe next season, from Bremen to Granada and from Palermo to Aix-en-Provence – and finally back in America: with concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York, in California and in Central America. At the Theater Basel, La Cetra will perform Monteverdi’s “Poppea” in a production by Christoph Marthaler. This season we continue our long-standing musical partnerships with Maurice Steger and Leila Schayegh in several concerts.
We are looking forward to the wonderful soloists of this season: the grande dame Sara Mingardo in the St. John Passion, Anett Fritsch as Dido in Graupner’s opera of the same name, Shira Patchornik, whose short-notice stand-in in “Giustino” we all remember fondly, Andreas Wolf, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, Christian Wagner, José Antonio Lopez, José Coca Loza, Robin Johannsen, Marie Lys and Vasilisa Berzhanskaya. Making their debut with La Cetra are Benedetta Mazzucato, Leonardo Cortellazzi, Nicolò Balducci, Jorge Franco and Chelsea Zurflüh.
Without our numerous supporters, La Cetra’s concerts and projects would not be possible. Our thanks go to the Canton of Basel-Stadt for its support as well as to all foundations, sponsors, patrons and friends of La Cetra.
Immerse yourself with us in the world of early music and original sound! We look forward to seeing you.
Andrea Marcon, Artistic Director
Barbara Baumgarner & Martina Bernasconi, Co-Presidency
