Telemann’s Pimpinone & Ino

Pimpinone I

Vespetta, a clever, diligent but poor woman, is seeking a position as chambermaid. She honestly admits that she is in fact looking for a dowry from her future employer, so she can get married as a way out of her poverty. She spots a wealthy, potentially suitable master: Pimpinone. Entranced by her rare combination of charm and modesty, the bachelor tries to find out if Vespetta is available to take care of his household. Vespetta uses this conversation to make it clear that, as her previous master was a brute, she now longs to work for a polite, wise, well-mannered, handsome, and gentle man, like… Pimpinone. This compliment causes the bachelor’s head to spin, and although aware that she is trying to manipulate him, he is already smitten. Vespetta succeeds, by flattery and promises of exemplary behavior, in obtaining the position. Pimpinone rejoices in his apparent good fortune. But Vespetta, feigning humility and respect, mocks him behind his back as they enter Pimpinone’s house.

Ino I

Queen Ino is fleeing her husband, King Athamas, who has been driven insane by the vengeful Saturnia, also called Juno, the queen of the gods. (The goddess was furious that Ino had reared Bacchus, the child of Juno’s husband Jupiter and Ino’s sister Semele.) Athamas has already killed his and Ino’s first-born son; she desperately tries to save Melicertes, their other son, carrying him over a rocky and inhospitable seacoast and expressing outrage at the injustice of Saturnia’s wrath. Ino presses on, trying to find a refuge, but she knows that Athamas is in close pursuit. To escape him, Ino leaps from a cliff into the sea with her son in her arms. Although the waves gently welcome Ino, she realizes that she has lost Melicertes during her fall. Devastated, she implores the gods of the sea to return her son to her. To her astonishment and gratitude, Melicertes appears atop the waves, lifted up by the tritons and nereids. 

Pimpinone II

Vespetta, now in Pimpinone’s service, has established herself as an excellent and irreplaceable housekeeper. She begins the next steps in her marriage plan. Claiming that her sense of frugality is hurt by his unwise spending, she threatens to leave Pimpinone’s employ. Penitent, Pimpinone gives her the keys to the house’s safe and to pacify her, the rich bachelor presents her with valuable jewels as a token of his love. Vespetta still claims that she must leave because neighbors are chattering about the nature of their relationship. To stop the gossip, Pimpinone offers to marry her under the condition that Vespetta would stay away from the opera, masquerades, and gambling…in short, that she should refrain from high living. Vespetta readily agrees to stay home, but points out that without a dowry, her status will still be that of a chambermaid. Pimpinone, eager to keep such a domestic pearl, offers an incredibly high dowry, but he requires that she should not leave the house and should not accept any visitors after the wedding celebration. Vespetta accepts these conditions and Pimpinone is in bliss contemplating their wedded future. With her dowry in hand, Vespetta marries Pimpinone.

Ino II

Ino and Melicertes are reunited. The gods of the sea accept both mother and son in their midst, elevating them to immortals. Their apotheosis as the goddess Leucothea and the god Palaemon are celebrated by trumpeting tritons and dancing nereids. Ino sees Neptune, monarch of the watery realms, appearing in his triumphant chariot, and she vows to thank him perpetually by her eternal presence as white foam on the waves.

Pimpinone III

Having become the mistress of the house, Vespetta has no intention of keeping her promises and frequently goes out. She is now preparing to attend a masked ball at her godmother’s house. This concerns Pimpinone, and he worries that the ladies there will make fun of him. When he reminds her of her vows of obedience, Vespetta laughs at her husband and claims her freedom as a married woman. Moreover, when Pimpinone also recalls her promise not to leave the house, she points out that she was then a maid, but now she is his wife. She tells of her desire to be just like all the other fashionable ladies by speaking French, dancing, dressing up in expensive clothes, and gambling. Overwhelmed, Pimpinone threatens her with physical punishment, but Vespetta promises to respond in kind. They insult each other and hurl promises of mayhem. Vespetta cows Pimpinone and reminds him that if they separated, he would have to give her control over her substantial dowry. Pimpinone, having fallen in love with his little wasp, ultimately agrees that going forward he will remain silent. 

—Gilbert Blin

The Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is universally recognized as a leader in the field of early music. Since its founding in 1980 by leading practitioners of historical performance in the United States and abroad, BEMF has promoted early music through a variety of diverse programs and activities, including an annual concert series that brings early music’s brightest stars to the Boston and New York concert stages, and the biennial weeklong Festival and Exhibition, recognized as “the world’s leading festival of early music” (The Times, London). Through its programs BEMF has earned its place as North America’s premier presenting organization for music of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods and has secured Boston’s reputation as “America’s early music capital” (The Boston Globe).

For more information about Boston Early Music Festival, please visit their website.

Paul O’Dette has been described as “the clearest case of genius ever to touch his instrument” (Toronto Globe and Mail). He appears regularly at major festivals the world over performing lute recitals and in chamber music programs with leading early music colleagues. Mr. O’Dette has made more than 150 recordings, winning two Grammy Awards and receiving eight Grammy nominations and numerous international record awards. The Complete Lute Music of John Dowland (a 5-CD set for harmonia mundi usa) was awarded the prestigious Diapason d’Or de l’Année, and was named “Best Solo Lute Recording of Dowland” by BBC Radio 3. The Bachelar’s Delight: Lute Music of Daniel Bacheler was nominated for a Grammy as Best Solo Instrumental Recording in 2006. While best known for his recitals and recordings of virtuoso solo lute music, Paul O’Dette is also active as a conductor of Baroque opera. Together with Stephen Stubbs he won a Grammy as conductor in 2015 for Best Opera Recording, as well as an Echo Klassik Award, for their recording of Charpentier’s La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers with the Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble. Their CDs of Conradi’s Ariadne, Lully’s Thésée, and Lully’s Psyché, with the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra on the CPO label, were nominated for Grammys in 2005, 2007, and 2008; their 2015 BEMF CD of Steffani’s Niobe, Regina di Tebe on the Erato/Warner Classics label was also nominated for a Grammy, and received both an Echo Klassik and the coveted Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Their recording of Charpentier’s Les Arts Florissants was nominated for a Grammy in 2019. In addition to his activities as a performer, Paul O’Dette is an avid researcher, having worked extensively on the performance of seventeenth-century Italian and English solo song, continuo practices, and lute repertoire. He has published numerous articles on issues of historical performance practice, and co-authored the John Dowland entry in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Paul O’Dette is Professor of Lute and Director of Early Music at the Eastman School of Music and Artistic Co-Director of the Boston Early Music Festival.

Stephen Stubbs, who won the Grammy Award as conductor for Best Opera Recording in 2015, spent a thirty-year career in Europe. He returned to his native Seattle in 2006 as one of the world’s most respected lutenists, conductors, and Baroque opera specialists. He now lives with his family in Agua Dulce, California. In 2007, Stephen established his new production company, Pacific MusicWorks (PMW), based in Seattle, reflecting his lifelong interest in both early music and contemporary performance. The company’s inaugural presentation was a production of South African artist William Kentridge’s acclaimed multimedia staging of Claudio Monteverdi’s opera The Return of Ulysses in a co-production with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. PMW’s performances of the Monteverdi Vespers were described in the press as “utterly thrilling” and “of a quality you are unlikely to encounter anywhere else in the world.” PMW is now a touring ensemble. Stephen Stubbs is also the Boston Early Music Festival’s Artistic CoDirector along with his long-time colleague Paul O’Dette. Stephen and Paul are also the musical directors of all BEMF operas, recordings of which were nominated for six Grammy awards, including one Grammy win in 2015. Also in 2015, BEMF recordings won two Echo Klassik awards and the Diapason d’Or de l’Année. In 2017, they received the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. In addition to his ongoing commitments to PMW and BEMF, other recent appearances have included Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Gluck’s Orfeo in Bilbao, Mozart’s Magic Flute and Così fan tutte for the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, Handel’s Agrippina and Semele for Opera Omaha, Cavalli’s Calisto and Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie for Juilliard, Mozart’s Il re pastore for the Merola program, and seven productions for Opera UCLA including Cavalli’s Giasone, Monteverdi’s Poppea, and Handel’s Amadigi. In recent years he has conducted Handel’s Messiah with the Seattle, Edmonton, Birmingham, Houston, and Nova Scotia Symphony orchestras. His extensive discography as conductor and solo lutenist includes well over 100 CDs, many of which have received international acclaim and awards.

Gilbert Blin graduated from the Paris Sorbonne with a Master’s degree focusing on Rameau’s operas, an interest that he has broadened to encompass French opera and its relation to Baroque theater, his fields of research as historian, stage director, and set and costume designer. He was awarded a Doctorate from Leiden University for a thesis dedicated to his approach to Historically Informed Staging. His début productions include Massenet’s Werther and Delibes’s Lakmé for Paris Opéra-Comique, and Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable for Prague State Opera. Since his production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice for the Drottningholm Theatre in Sweden in 1998, Dr. Blin has established himself as a sought-after opera director for the early repertoire: he directed Vivaldi’s Orlando furioso for the Prague State Opera, designed and staged Vivaldi’s Rosmira fedele, Handel’s Teseo and Alessandro Scarlatti’s Il Tigrane for Opéra de Nice, and directed Lully’s Thésée and Lully’s Psyché for the Boston Early Music Festival. As Stage Director in Residence at BEMF beginning in 2008, Gilbert Blin staged a trilogy of English operas: Blow’s Venus and Adonis, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and Handel’s Acis and Galatea. In 2011, after the staging of Steffani’s Niobe, Regina di Tebe, he presented Charpentier’s La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers and La Couronne de Fleurs. In 2013, with his production of Handel’s Almira, Gilbert Blin was appointed Opera Director of the Boston Early Music Festival. Following his acclaimed staging and set designs of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea for the 2009 Boston Festival, Dr. Blin staged Monteverdi’s Orfeo for the BEMF Chamber Opera Series in 2012 and the composer’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria in 2015. Other productions for BEMF include Campra’s Le Carnaval de Venise, Steffani’s Orlando generoso, and Francesca Caccini’s Alcina. In 2016, Gilbert Blin created Versailles: Portrait of a Royal Domain, and in 2022, he staged Lully’s Idylle sur la Paix and Charpentier’s La Fête de Rueil. His recent productions include Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda for Bratislava, Desmarest’s Circé and Lampe’s The Dragon of Wantley for Boston, and Rameau’s Dardanus for Stockholm.

Director, choreographer, and dancer Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière founded Les Jardins Chorégraphiques in Montreal in 2007. A multidisciplinary artist trained in dance, music, and commedia dell’arte, she is recognized for the originality of her work. She has directed and choreographed over forty operas, both in Canada and internationally. She regularly collaborates with the Festival Montréal Baroque and the Vancouver Early Music Festival, while also leading stage projects at the Festival Prangins Baroque in Switzerland. Since 2007, she has worked as a dancer, choreographer, and co-director alongside Gilbert Blin at the Boston Early Music Festival and at the Nice opera. In 2019, she won an Opus Award for her direction of Blow’s Venus and Adonis and was nominated in 2023 for her creation De la Pavane au Swing with Les Boréades de Montréal. A dynamic educator, she currently leads the opera workshops at Cégep de SaintLaurent and the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.

Soprano Amanda Forsythe sang Eurydice on Boston Early Music Festival’s 2015 Grammy-winning recording of Charpentier’s La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers, and earned widespread acclaim for her albums of Handel arias with Apollo’s Fire on the Avie label and Gluck’s Orfeo with Philippe Jaroussky on the Erato label. With BEMF, she has performed operas by Campra, Steffani, Pergolesi, Handel, Charpentier, Desmarest, and Monteverdi, many of which are available on recording. Other opera engagements have included roles for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro; and the major houses of Geneva, Munich, Seattle, Rome, Berlin, and Philadelphia. In recent seasons, Amanda Forsythe’s major concert engagements have included performances with the Boston Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Hong Kong Philharmonic, The New York Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony, the Orchestra Sinfonica Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, The Academy of Ancient Music, The St. Louis Symphony, Music of the Baroque, and the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra.

Danielle Reutter-Harrah has performed with Boston Early Music Festival, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Opera, California Bach Society, Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, and Early Music Vancouver, among others. Her favorite past performances include Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (Melanto) and Orfeo (La Musica/Messaggiera), Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Dido/Belinda), Bach’s Magnificat (soprano/alto soloist) and St. Matthew Passion (alto soloist), and Handel’s Messiah (soprano/alto soloist). Danielle performs frequently with local Seattle ensembles including Pacific MusicWorks, Whidbey Island Music Festival, and the Byrd Ensemble. Danielle received her BM from the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music and her MM from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and teaches voice and piano privately. She lives in Seattle with her family.

Christian Immler studied with Rudolf Piernay and won the International Boulanger Competition in Paris. His operatic experience ranges from Monteverdi’s Seneca, Mozart’s Commendatore and Speaker, Beethoven’s Rocco, and Wagner’s Fasolt to Strauss’s Musiklehrer. In concert, he has performed Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the Minnesota Philharmonic, Kindertotenlieder with the Hungarian National Philharmonic, Mendelsohn’s Elijah with the OAE, Zemlinsky’s Lyrische Symphonie with Orchestre National de France, and Glanert’s Prager Sinfonie with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. He has worked with such conductors as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Herbert Blomstedt, René Jacobs, Semyon Bychkov, Marc Minkowski, Masaaki Suzuki, Raphaël Pichon, Daniel Harding, Kent Nagano, Leonardo García Alarcón, Laurence Equilbey, James Conlon, Philippe Herreweghe, and William Christie. A keen recitalist, he has been invited by the Wigmore Hall, the Frick Collection, and the Paris Philharmonie with pianists such as Helmut Deutsch. His more than sixty recordings have been awarded prizes such as a Grammy nomination. Christian holds a doctorate in musicology, loves teaching, and is much in demand for worldwide masterclasses.