MEDIA RELEASE: Revealing the Ugly Beauty of Pauline Viardot

On Sunday July 18th at Callaway Music Auditorium, University of Western Australia, Tenth Muse Initiative will bring together local musicians to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Pauline Viardot’s birth. 

Prima donna Pauline Viardot is often remembered for the incredible voice she possessed and noted for her (supposed lack of) beauty, but she was also a prominent composer of her era, and this contribution has been largely forgotten.

‘Ugly Beauty’ will be an exploration of Viardot as a whole person: composer, singer and influential figure.

Featured in this concert will be star soprano Lisa Harper-Brown and West Australian Opera Young Artist Chelsea Kluga, along with emerging singers and instrumentalists.

Harper-Brown says: “The significance of this concert in this time of ‘awakening’ cannot be overstated; to awaken our minds to the endeavours of a forgotten few, a previously overlooked minority of inspirational composers who worked in private, because they lacked the vital credentials of being male. I am thrilled to be participating in such a worthwhile and ground-breaking initiative.”

This is a rare opportunity to hear the music of Pauline Viardot, her sister Maria Malibran, and their contemporaries including Clara Schumman and Fanny Hensel.

As part of a commitment to improving accessibility in art music, Tenth Music Initiative will be offering tickets to ‘Ugly Beauty’ on a sliding scale. More details and tickets are available at: www.tenthmuseinitiative.com.au

Tenth Muse Initiative creates and presents art music events in Boorloo (Perth) promoting the work of diverse and underrepresented musicians. For more information, contact Hannah Lee Tungate at tenthmuseinitiative@gmail.com 0r call on 0459481283.