Thus Pluto already fell victim to Venus by Cupid’s arrows, and Proserpina despite her laments in turn fell victim to Pluto who carried her off to Hades. Yet the fruits of the underworld were tempting, and had Proserpina not tasted the pomegranate seeds she could have been saved. The story ends with a compromise: For one half of the year Proserpina descends to the underworld to rule it, during which time bleak winter reigns on earth.

Even in ancient mythology, the relationship between the sexes is already characterized by deceit, abduction and violence, but the line separating these from love and devotion does not always seem to be clearly drawn: Rome would probably have been doomed soon after it was founded if Romulus had not cunningly abducted the Sabine women. Still, it was the daughters who later opposed being rescued by their fathers, wishing to remain with their new husbands.

In Robbed kisses, stolen hearts the Compagnia di Punto together with Italian soprano Raffaela Milanesi traces love’s intrigues. Serenades by Joseph Haydn and Antonio Rosetti form a frame around arias from Mozart’s operas in which female characters sing of love’s deceits and desires, joys and woes.

Instrumentation

Soprano, 2 flutes, 2 horns, 2 violins, viola, violoncello, double bass

"An intelligent combination of various types of music from entirely different contexts all of a sudden creates a new situation. Such reinterpretations and new perspectives are what a festival programmer is looking for much more than mere repertory or tour programmes which, while usually rehearsed to perfection, all too often offer nothing new."

Richard Lorber, editor of the WDR Early Music section in Zwischentöne.