The Dark Lady is an artistic kaleidoscope that brings feminist voices from past and present into a vibrant musical-poetic dialogue. At its heart are the poems of the English author Emilia Lanier, née Bassano (1569–1645) — one of the first women to be published in England and long considered one of the possible inspirations for Shakespeare’s enigmatic “Dark Lady.” Her texts, radical for their time, intertwine with English and German poetry, music, and socio-political reflection to form a rich, multilayered tapestry.
For The Dark Lady, Arc of Iris is joined by stage poet Antonia Josefa and lirone player Stephen Moran. In addition, the project includes a newly commissioned work by Rucsandra Popescu, Freispruch für Eva, that sets a contemporary feminist poem by Christa Peikert-Flaspöhler (1927–2016) to music, creating a sonic bridge between centuries.
Musically, Arc of Iris weaves together works by John Dowland, Henry Purcell and Robert Johnson, a cousin of Emilia Bassano, with instrumental compositions by Isabella Leonarda and Tobias Hume. Thematically resonant vocal works by Barbara Strozzi and Francesca Caccini enrich the programme with further female perspectives.
The Dark Lady proposes a female gaze as both an aesthetic vision and a socio-political countermodel to the realities of our present world. A beautiful utopia — or perhaps simply a glimpse of the future.
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Deutsche Orchester-Stiftung (#MusikerZukunft Stipendium), which made this project possible.
