Though Musica Universalis is certainly no stranger to formal concerts, we very much enjoy collaborating with artists from other disciplines to create performances with dimensions beyond the usual setting of a band on stage in front of a seated audience. These are some of our favorite recent collaborations. You’ll also find information here about new projects as we develop them.
Recent Projects
Veronica, In Bed
Presented at Portland’s Shaking the Tree Theatre in December 2024
Veronica, In Bed was a dynamic work-in-progress showing that merged Briana Ratterman Trevithick’s fresh script with historical texts by Veronica Franco. This production dug into the tangled relationships between sexuality, power, and survival through the life of Veronica Franco, a 16th-century poet courtesan, and in some ways an early Renaissance “influencer.” At its core, it was an exploration of our timeless need for connection, examining how our methods and means of connecting evolve, yet the underlying human drive remains constant.
Featuring key staged selections guided by director Štěpán Šimek, the performance combined Renaissance music and opera, the captivating vocals of Joellen Sweeney and Madeline Ross, puppetry, and cutting-edge media elements by Trevor Sargent, including live video feeds, projections, social media, and AI manipulation. Audiences were transported between eras as they explored the tools of power and survival, as well as the persistent desire for influence.
Cantigas de Santa Maria: mysteries and stories of 13th century Galicia
Presented in May 2024
In this concert featuring renowned recorder virtuoso Cléa Galhano, we showcased selections from the Cantigas de Santa Maria performed in Musica Universalis’ vibrant style. The Cantigas de Santa Maria are 420 poems with musical notation, written in the medieval Galician-Portuguese language during the reign of Alfonso X of Castile El Sabio (1221–1284).
Piercing the Veil:
A Samhain Celebration
Photo: Joe Cantrell
Presented in October 2023.
Piercing the Veil is a musical and theatrical exploration of the Celtic origins of Halloween. Featuring the music of Musica Universalis, puppetry by Birdie Amico and Keziah Peterson of Kettlehead Studios, and performance by Briana Ratterman, the show, directed by Štěpán Šimek, weaves together a tapestry of stories from the vast body Irish mythology reenacted by original puppets with music, songs, and poetry.
Danse Macabre: The Testament of François Villon
Photo: Sarah Marguier
Written by director Štěpán Šimek and actor Jean-Luc Boucherot, Danse Macabre is based on the work of François Villon, the 15th-century French poet, rabble-rouser, and thief. In this one-actor play, Boucherot performs poetry in both French and English from Le Testament, Villon’s monumental, autobiographical work written in 1461. The play also features dancer Briana Ratterman, who inhabits a life-sized figure of Death that both shadows and inspires the poet. Musica Universalis’s live score includes music of Villon’s time, along with settings of his poetry by modern composers including Kurt Weill and Georges Brassens.
Danse Macabre was created in 2019 and 2020, only to be shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic on the afternoon of opening night. The show was resurrected for a very successful run in the fall of 2021.
Click or touch for a gallery of photos from the show.
Krampus Unplugged: The Gritty Tales of St. Nicholas
Presented in December 2021
Krampus Unplugged delved into the origins of St. Nicholas and his less-benign sidekick, the rather deranged Krampus. For this project, Musica Universalis collaborated with Portland puppeteers and storytellers Shuhe Hawkins and Katherine Larsen for an evening of storytelling, shadow puppets, music, fact, and folklore.