Voci della Pietà

Ensemble La Néréide and Holland Baroque present a new Italian programme centred on the Venetian ospedali, orphanages that became renowned musical centres in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Girls and young women developed extraordinary musical skills there, performing the virtuosic works of composers such as Vivaldi, Galuppi and Porpora. Their voices and instrumental talents attracted audiences from across Europe, while the performers themselves remained hidden behind screens and grilles.

The ospedali offered young women a rare path to musical education and artistic recognition. Yet this remarkable achievement also raises questions about the discipline, restrictions and opportunities that shaped their lives.