Music Before 1800: The Blood of the Rose

The Blood of the Rose
Relic

In 1701 Peru, Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco’s La Púrpura de la Rosa became the first opera ever performed in the Americas. The libretto, written by a renowned Spanish poet Pedro Calderón de la Barca, recounts the tragic love story of Venus and Adonis.

Relic’s newly-curated program, “The Blood of the Rose,” celebrates the rich tradition of Baroque music in 1700s Latin America through an instrumental adaptation of the Venus and Adonis myth. Punctuated by spoken excerpts from Calderón’s lush libretto, this dramatic concert depicts Venus and Adonis’s blossoming romance, Mars’s vicious attempts to destroy their love, and the couple’s ultimate tragic demise.

Music Before 1800 debut