A musical portrait of Queen Christina of Sweden
with Ensemble NeoBarock, Maren Ries (baroque violin & artistic director), Anne von Hoff (baroque violin), Juris Teichmanis (baroque violoncello), Thor-Harald Johnsen (lute & baroque guitar), Stanislav Gres (harpsichord) and Alexandra Lowygina (narrator)
Works by Luigi Rossi, Pietro Antonio Cesti, Alessandro Stradella, Lelio Colista, Arcangelo Corelli
She ascended to the throne at a young age and abdicated at a young age: Christina of Sweden, who also ruled the Island of Usedom for several years, was born exactly 400 years ago and was a highly respected woman in her day. Scholars and diplomats compared her to Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. Christina could ride and fence, was well versed in the sciences and loved music.
After her abdication and move to Rome, she turned the Palazzo Riario into a musical center of Europe; Arcangelo Corelli joined her court chapel in 1677 and dedicated his Opus 1 to her in 1681. Here she is presented: with her own letters and diaries, testimonies from diplomats and the music she herself heard - brought to life by the multi-award-winning ensemble NeoBarock (artistic director: Maren Ries, once a violinist with Reinhard Goebel's Musica Antiqua Köln) and the actress Alexandra Lowygina.