Relic: “The Blood of the Rose”

Experience the tragic love story of Venus and Adonis, brought to life through a seamless curation of Baroque music from across Europe and Latin America.

Lauded as “stylish and innovative” (New York Classical Review), Relic is a period-instrument chamber orchestra that connects with audiences through intimate, imaginative, and dramatic representations of early music. Currently in its third season, Relic has quickly built a reputation for its cutting-edge performances of both well-loved and lesser-known masterworks of the Baroque era. Relic’s innovative programming, which uses narrative “chapters” to unite a variety of repertoires into a breathtaking concert experience, has captured the hearts of new and seasoned concertgoers alike.

Relic’s recent presenters include Chamber Music Detroit, the Academy of Early Music, the Indianapolis Early Music Festival, Gotham Early Music Scene, Kalamazoo College, Musicivic, and the Bullock Series at Western Michigan University. 

For its performance at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Relic presents its program “The Blood of the Rose.” In 1701 Peru, Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco’s La Púrpura de la Rosa (The Blood of the Rose) 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 celebrates the rich tradition of Baroque music in 1700s Peru through an instrumental adaptation of the Venus and Adonis story. In five musical “chapters,” punctuated by spoken excerpts from Calderón’s lush libretto, this dramatic program depicts Venus and Adonis’s blossoming romance, Mars’s vicious attempts to destroy their love, and the couple’s ultimately tragic demise. 

“The Blood of the Rose” is a seamless curation of Baroque music from across Europe and Latin America, with a focus on Spanish and Latin American music and on works inspired by Venus and Adonis. In addition to Torrejón y Velasco, featured composers include Roque Jacinto de Chavarría, Juan de Araujo, George Frideric Handel, John Blow, Alessandro Scarlatti, and others.

More information about Relic can be found on the ensemble’s website (opens in a new tab).

Performers
Aniela Eddy, Kako Boga, Natalie Kress, Rebecca Nelson, and Toma Iliev, violin
Graham Cohen, viola
Cullen O’Neil, cello
Sue Yelanjian, bass
Robert Warner, harpsichord and organ
Daniel Swenburg, theorbo and guitar
Georgeanne Banker, bassoon and recorder

The views expressed by performers during this event are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cleveland Museum of Art.