In 1524, Gian Giorgio Trissino published I Ritratti: a collection of word portraits of women he considered to be paragons of intellect and virtue, but which focused above all on their physical beauty.

Adopting Trissino's title but shedding his qualifiers, Musica Antica Rotherhithe present portraits of three 17th Century female Italian composers - Isabella Leonarda, Antonia Bembo and Barbara Strozzi - through their music, alongside extracts from the operas of Strozzi and Bembo’s teacher, Francesco Cavalli.

This concert has been generously supported by the Continuo Foundation.