WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Wednesday, June 26, the Clark Art Institute presents a free classical concert on the career and repertoire of the famous eighteenth-century soprano Minette by musicians of Opera Lafayette and soprano Arian Wehr. 

 

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Guillaume Lethière, the free concert takes place on the Clark's reflecting pool lawn at 6 pm.

 

According to a press release:

 

One of the great stars of theatrical life in colonial Saint-Domingue in the 1780s, the soprano Minette was unlike almost all the actors and actresses of that time in that she was a woman of African descent. The title of Marie Chauvet's novel about Minette, Dancing on a Volcano, aptly suggests the tensions swirling around this contemporary of artist Guillaume Lethière and composer Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de Saint-George.

 

Brazilian-American soprano Ariana Wehr joins musicians of Opera Lafayette to present music from the operas of Gluck, Philidor, Grétry, and others (which Minette performed in the years leading up to the Haitian Revolution), as well as music from the Chevalier de Saint-George.

 

Free. For accessibility concerns, call 413 458 0524. Bring a picnic and your own seating. Rain moves the event to the auditorium, located in the Manton Research Center.