What names come to mind when you think of German Romantic composers? Schumann? Mendelssohn? Schubert? If you mean Robert, Felix, and Franz, you may want to think again.
In German Romantics, The Pleiades Project presents three miniseries based on the Lieder of German Romantic composers Clara Schumann, Louise Reichardt, and Fanny Mendelssohn. For our first installment, join us for German Romantics: Clara, where we follow our protagonist as she reconciles with the end of a relationship. Through her vibrant fantasies, she considers the good, the bad, and the romantic in life.
The Pleiades Project is challenging how we define the “German Romantics” by insisting that we not forget the women.
In German Romantics, The Pleiades Project presents three miniseries based on the Lieder of German Romantic composers Clara Schumann, Louise Reichardt, and Fanny Mendelssohn. For our first installment, join us for German Romantics: Clara, where we follow our protagonist as she reconciles with the end of a relationship. Through her vibrant fantasies, she considers the good, the bad, and the romantic in life.
The Pleiades Project is challenging how we define the “German Romantics” by insisting that we not forget the women.
German Romantics: Louise
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The second installment of our German Romantics series features the Lieder of composer, pianist, teacher, and conductor Louise Reichardt (1779-1826). The well-educated daughter of professional musicians, Reichardt later crafted an independent lifestyle and freelance career for herself, not unlike what is required of musicians and performers in today's classical music world. Featuring Baltimore-based soprano Hannah Alexandra, pianists Marina Iwao and Eric Sedgwick, and director of photography Elizabeth Van Os, German Romantics: Louise tells the fascinating biographical tale of Reichardt's life: how she overcame loss to successfully build a musical career supported by her many talents. Set to Reichardt's poignant and sensitive songs and with original dialogue by director Caroline Miller, German Romantics: Louise brings an often overlooked and underappreciated composer and her music to life, inspiring a new generation to reimagine the creative contributions of yet another remarkable nineteenth-century woman composer.
Director Statement: Caroline MillerI was very excited to “break the rules” in German Romantics: Louise. By writing dialogue scenes to alternate with Reichardt’s songs, we converse more directly with our heroine, imagining what her inner life could have been like. After reading that, despite the deaths of two fiancé’s, Reichardt was always described as jovial and upbeat, I was especially intrigued by how she coped with unimaginable loss and grief. In a male-dominated society, nineteenth-century women were not permitted a vehicle to openly share their lived experiences. I wanted to imagine a space in which we hear Reichardt’s uncensored thoughts as informed by her biography. While I may take certain liberties, given her decision to flout convention and become a successful freelance musician, I feel that Louise would understand.
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Director of Photography: Elizabeth van Os
For our newest installment of German Romantics: Louise, I wanted to create something that was connected to German Romantics: Clara, our first installment in the series, but that also lived in its own world. In the midst of a pandemic, the nature of combining nineteenth-century Lieder with the contemporary medium of film means that we must accept certain anachronisms and limitations. I hoped that we could make a film that accepted these incongruities instead of running away from them out of fear. In terms of photography, we lean into bright colors, color on color, and contrast close, intimate shots with composed, full body pictures. German Romantics: Louise is centered on one very specific woman and her experiences; I wanted this interpretation to be true to both her and us.
Attend the Premiere! February 26th 2021
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DIRECTOR'S SALON
5:30 PM EST (Savada Stevenson IN Circle Lounge) Who is Louise Reichardt, you say? Fear not! Join us for our Director's Salon on February 26th at 5:30pm to learn more about her life and music. The salon will include a short presentation about Reichardt's biography and Lieder from Noelle McMurtry, Pleiades Director of Live Content, followed by a chat with Caroline Miller, Elizabeth van Os and soprano Hannah Alexandra. Don't miss it!
*Be sure to use google chrome for this for compatibility reasons. GERMAN ROMANTICS: LOUISE LIVE PREMIERE
6:00pm EST (LIVE STUDIO) Join us for our main event - the premiere screening of German Romantics: Louise! Our film showcases five of Reichardt's gorgeous songs, as well as original dialogue written by Director Caroline Miller.
ARTIST'S RECEPTION
6:30 PM EST (Savada Stevenson IN Circle Lounge) Come chat with the artists! Share what you loved, hated, and what made you think in a new way. In this year of separation, let's find every chance we can get to come together and connect safely.
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Watch NOW
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How does Invision work?When you go to the INVISION page, head over to THE BOX, where you will find all of The Pleiades Project Content. Once you pick a video, you will be prompted to sign up for a subscription plan. While we encourage you to support Invision, and thus The Pleiades Project, financially, you are also completely welcome to pick the free plan. All of our content is available for free!
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Meet our leading Lady
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A versatile soprano performing opera, art song, and new music, this season Hannah Alexandra digitally premiered the song cycle Five Merwin Songs by Jacob Wilkinson. Last season, she performed Tatiana from Eugene Onegin and Lisette from La rondine with Peabody Opera Theatre and starred as Émilie in Peabody's Now Here This presentation of Kaija Saariaho's Émilie in February 2020. In 2019, she debuted as Mozart's Donna Anna in the Estates Theatre in Prague, Czech Republic.
An advocate for contemporary classical music, Hannah has been a vocalist in numerous world premieres and recently created the role of the Younger Brother in A Madman’s Diary by Jun An Chew in April 2019. She was part of Peabody's Opera Etudes program where she performed in previews for new vocal works, including a monodrama for soprano during the fall of 2018. She was also part of the premier of René Clausen's Passion of Jesus Christ conducted by the composer at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, MN in April 2017. Hannah received her Bachelor of Music degree, magna cum laude, from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, and her Masters in Vocal Performance at Johns Hopkins University-Peabody Institute where she received the George Castelle Memorial Award and was inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society. Hannah lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with her two cats and many plants, where she enjoys cooking and studying German. |
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See more from Hannah at hannahalexandranoyes.com
German Romantics: Clara
While public interest in the life and works of composer Clara Schumann has increased over the past few decades, she still does not get the recognition that she rightly deserves.
Clara Schumann was a virtuosic pianist, composer and piano pedagogue. From the age of eleven, she maintained a sixty-one year concert career, touring throughout Europe. Her success as a concert artist secured essential income for her family, including her husband, the renowned composer Robert Schumann, who suffered from mental illness, and their eight children. She began composing as a child, and her compositions later included solo piano pieces, chamber music, choral works and Lieder.
For German Romantics: Clara, The Pleiades Project reconceptualizes the three Lieder of Clara Schumann’s Op. 12, which was originally part of a collection of twelve songs jointly published by Clara and Robert to poetry by Friedrich Rückert. In 1841, soon after their marriage, Robert urged Clara to collaborate on a project together. Clara began to work on the songs of Op. 12, although she found the compositional process challenging. As the set took shape, Clara was at the beginning stages of pregnancy, and was generally ambivalent about composing Lieder.
While these songs may have marked the beginning of Clara and Robert’s union, our protagonist navigates Op. 12 as she copes with the end of an important partnership. As she comes to terms with the conclusion of this cherished chapter of her life, her imagination travels to vibrant fantasy worlds of the past. In becoming the heroine of her own story, our protagonist reaches closure and enters a new world of possibilities.
Clara Schumann was a virtuosic pianist, composer and piano pedagogue. From the age of eleven, she maintained a sixty-one year concert career, touring throughout Europe. Her success as a concert artist secured essential income for her family, including her husband, the renowned composer Robert Schumann, who suffered from mental illness, and their eight children. She began composing as a child, and her compositions later included solo piano pieces, chamber music, choral works and Lieder.
For German Romantics: Clara, The Pleiades Project reconceptualizes the three Lieder of Clara Schumann’s Op. 12, which was originally part of a collection of twelve songs jointly published by Clara and Robert to poetry by Friedrich Rückert. In 1841, soon after their marriage, Robert urged Clara to collaborate on a project together. Clara began to work on the songs of Op. 12, although she found the compositional process challenging. As the set took shape, Clara was at the beginning stages of pregnancy, and was generally ambivalent about composing Lieder.
While these songs may have marked the beginning of Clara and Robert’s union, our protagonist navigates Op. 12 as she copes with the end of an important partnership. As she comes to terms with the conclusion of this cherished chapter of her life, her imagination travels to vibrant fantasy worlds of the past. In becoming the heroine of her own story, our protagonist reaches closure and enters a new world of possibilities.
Meet our leading lady
Noelle mcmurtry
Noelle McMurtry, soprano, is interested in the intersection of music and theater, particularly through art song, new music, early music, and cabaret to explore diverse and underrepresented perspectives. An avid recitalist, Noelle is most interested in innovative, thematic programming to create new contexts in which to experience the “canon,” particularly highlighting feminist perspectives and the marginalized works of historic female composers. Examples of her original programs include Ophelia and Her Sisters, Femme en fleurs, and The Heavenly Banquet, performed at various concert venues throughout NYC. Through her affiliation with The Cantanti Project, a classical singer-lead collective in NYC, Noelle has also performed on The Little Ghost, Ophelia Transformed, and Her Story, all programs focusing on the perspectives of women through song. To further her programming methodology, Noelle is pursuing a Doctorate in Musical Arts at Peabody Institute with an expected graduation date of 2021. As part of her Doctoral studies, Noelle created Portraits, a chamber concert exploring projected portraiture with works by Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Barbara Strozzi, Francis Poulenc, and Lacy Rose.
A frequent collaborator in new music, Noelle performed at The New Music On The Point Festival, premiering works by composers Sarah Grace Graves and Aaron Wyanski. In 2017-2018, she performed with Peabody’s Now Hear This Ensemble, presenting works by Scott Ordway and Kate Soper, most notably on the Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center. In the 2019-2020 season, Noelle performed selections from Kaija Saariaho’s Émilie with Now Hear This!, as well as presented Kate Soper’s Here Be Sirens with IN Series (DC) at their inaugural Women Composers Festival. She also co-curated the Women Composers Festival Gala Concert, performing works by Louise Talma, Jessica Krash, and Caroline Shaw. In 2021, with New Alliance for Music Theatre and The Phillips Collection, Noelle will premiere a TBD-titled piece for soprano and alto saxophone, created by composer Jessica Krash and librettist Claudia Rosales, in conversation with the painting Canyon by Helen Frankenthaler.
Noelle currently serves as Director of Live Content at The Pleiades Project, a production platform for female-identifying artists through digital and live performance opportunities with a focus on vocal classical repertoire and opera. Through this collaboration, Noelle premiered as a soloist in Come down angels, a program exploring North and South American folk songs and spirituals from female perspectives, at the Multi- Cultural Sonic Evolution Festival (NYC) and the Alchemical Theatre Laboratory (NYC). In 2020, Noelle will make her film debut in German Romantics: Clara, interpreting Clara Schumann’s Op. 12 in collaboration with The Pleaides Project and IN Series.
In 2015, Noelle created an original cabaret show, Queen of Hearts, with comedian Emma Tattenbaum-Fine, exploring female perspectives on love through story and song. In 2016, Queen of Hearts was awarded a Career Development Grant from Peabody Institute to further develop its artistic and theatrical scope with subsequent performances at The Duplex Theater (NYC), with Inception to Exhibition (NYC), and Stillpointe Theater (Baltimore).
Highlights of her operatic credits also include Calisto in La Calisto, Drusilla in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Fairy in The Fairy Queen, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte and First Witch in Dido & Aeneas. In 2018, Noelle covered the title role of Krystyna Zywulska in the premiere of Jake Heggie’s Out of Darknesss: Two Remain with Peabody Chamber Opera. Noelle has also performed as a member of the Young Artist Program in Boston Early Music Festival’s production of Almira, shadowing the role of Edilia.
The breadth of Noelle’s artistic experience extends beyond her interests in performance and programming as well. She has a background in arts non-profit administration through her work as a grant writer and Interim Daily Manager at The Actors Theater Workshop (NYC) and Assistant to the Director of Manhattan Girls Chorus (NYC). In 2019, she was Assistant Director to Timothy Nelson in the IN Series production of Handel’s Serse. A student of Ah Young Hong, Noelle resides in Washington DC.
A frequent collaborator in new music, Noelle performed at The New Music On The Point Festival, premiering works by composers Sarah Grace Graves and Aaron Wyanski. In 2017-2018, she performed with Peabody’s Now Hear This Ensemble, presenting works by Scott Ordway and Kate Soper, most notably on the Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center. In the 2019-2020 season, Noelle performed selections from Kaija Saariaho’s Émilie with Now Hear This!, as well as presented Kate Soper’s Here Be Sirens with IN Series (DC) at their inaugural Women Composers Festival. She also co-curated the Women Composers Festival Gala Concert, performing works by Louise Talma, Jessica Krash, and Caroline Shaw. In 2021, with New Alliance for Music Theatre and The Phillips Collection, Noelle will premiere a TBD-titled piece for soprano and alto saxophone, created by composer Jessica Krash and librettist Claudia Rosales, in conversation with the painting Canyon by Helen Frankenthaler.
Noelle currently serves as Director of Live Content at The Pleiades Project, a production platform for female-identifying artists through digital and live performance opportunities with a focus on vocal classical repertoire and opera. Through this collaboration, Noelle premiered as a soloist in Come down angels, a program exploring North and South American folk songs and spirituals from female perspectives, at the Multi- Cultural Sonic Evolution Festival (NYC) and the Alchemical Theatre Laboratory (NYC). In 2020, Noelle will make her film debut in German Romantics: Clara, interpreting Clara Schumann’s Op. 12 in collaboration with The Pleaides Project and IN Series.
In 2015, Noelle created an original cabaret show, Queen of Hearts, with comedian Emma Tattenbaum-Fine, exploring female perspectives on love through story and song. In 2016, Queen of Hearts was awarded a Career Development Grant from Peabody Institute to further develop its artistic and theatrical scope with subsequent performances at The Duplex Theater (NYC), with Inception to Exhibition (NYC), and Stillpointe Theater (Baltimore).
Highlights of her operatic credits also include Calisto in La Calisto, Drusilla in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Fairy in The Fairy Queen, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte and First Witch in Dido & Aeneas. In 2018, Noelle covered the title role of Krystyna Zywulska in the premiere of Jake Heggie’s Out of Darknesss: Two Remain with Peabody Chamber Opera. Noelle has also performed as a member of the Young Artist Program in Boston Early Music Festival’s production of Almira, shadowing the role of Edilia.
The breadth of Noelle’s artistic experience extends beyond her interests in performance and programming as well. She has a background in arts non-profit administration through her work as a grant writer and Interim Daily Manager at The Actors Theater Workshop (NYC) and Assistant to the Director of Manhattan Girls Chorus (NYC). In 2019, she was Assistant Director to Timothy Nelson in the IN Series production of Handel’s Serse. A student of Ah Young Hong, Noelle resides in Washington DC.
#PleiadesClara Competition
To celebrate the premiere of our digital miniseries German Romantics: Clara, we invited artists to get in on the Clara Schumann excitement! We asked they submit any art work, song, visual, anything that was inspired by Clara Schumann.
Winner
Andréa Walker
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We were happy to award Andréa Walker $200 for her winning entry Ihr Bildnes. She played and sang this piece by Clara Schumann and our judge was particularly impressed by how completely "she embodied the essence of Clara Schumann."
Texas native Andréa Walker is a soprano and collaborative artist pursuing her M.M. in Voice at the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music. Prior to her time at Yale, she lived in Houston where she received her B.M. from the University of Houston and gained experience as a soloist, ensemble musician, and choral conductor. Her experience as an ensemble musician ranges from performing with the Grammy-award winning Houston Chamber Choir to serving as a Voces8 Scholar in the 2018-2019 season. Her passion for sacred music led her to a position as Associate Music Director at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Houston. Andréa also relished her time as a teaching artist with Houston Grand Opera. As a soloist, her recent performance highlights include a world premiere with Apollo Chamber Players, a concert of Mozart arias with Echo Orchestra of Houston, and her Lincoln Center debut with Masaaki Suzuki in Der Tag des Gerichts by Telemann. |
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Entries we loved
Dawna Rae Warren |
Baltimore Musicales |
Meet our judge-cree Carrico
Soprano Cree Carrico is “a notably versatile performer” and “sensational actress” who is continuously praised by critics for her “crystal clarity at the center of every note” making it “hard to watch anyone else when she’s on stage.” As a lead interpreter of 20th and 21st century works, Carrico collaborates closely with a number of composers and librettists and performs in many premières of contemporary pieces, including the New York première of Jake Heggie’s monodrama At the Statue of Venus. More recently she has created the roles of Zegner Daughter, Littler in the world première of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Proving Up with Opera Omaha and subsequently at The Miller Theater in New York, and made her Fort Worth Opera début as Rosemary Kennedy in the world première of David T. Little and Royce Vavrek’s JFK, with subsequent performances with Montreal Opera. This season, Carrico performs as Anna in Tintypes with Artistree’s Music Theater Festival, and as Mabel in Pirates of Penzance with Opera Tampa. Additionally, she will perform as a soloist in Stray Bird with New Chamber Ballet at The Philips Collection in DC, and as a solist with the St Louis Philharmonic. Last season, Carrico reprised the role of Beatrice in Three Decembers with Nashville Opera, sang Adele in Die Fledermaus with Opera Tampa, the role La Fee in Cendrillon with Opera Company of Middlebury, Musetta in La bohèmewith Union Avenue Opera, and performed My Fair Lady: in Concert with the Utah Symphony. Say hello at www.creecarrico.com !
