Live performance of the recitative "A Difficult Moment", from the forthcoming opera "The Memoirs of Antonina" by composer/librettist Mary Bichner. Performed by Helen Zhibing Huang (Marie Antoinette), Tim Ribchester (music director), and Emma Terrell (assistant music director) on September 2nd, 2018 at the Central Square Theater of Cambridge, MA. Video by Allthingsharmony/Brandon Johnson ([ Ссылка ]).

*ABOUT THE OPERA*
"The Memoirs of Antonina" is a new/in-progress three-act opera by composer/librettist Mary Bichner, inspired by Marie Antoinette of France. Taking its name from a slanderous 18th-century tract about the queen’s rumored exploits and indiscretions, "The Memoirs of Antonina" focuses on the final years of Marie Antoinette’s life, and pits two versions of the queen (performed by two different singers) against one another: the imagined breezy libertine derided by revolutionary pamphleteers, and the distraught historical figure determined to reclaim her kingdom and her reputation. For more information, please visit: [ Ссылка ]

*SONG DESCRIPTION*
Towards the beginning of the opera, a frustrated Marie Antoinette addresses the audience to explain her deteriorating relationship with the people of France. As she sings, the Queen mentally prepares herself for a walk in the courtyard, knowing she is bound to be denounced and ridiculed by the populace once she steps outside. This piece is immediately followed by the aria, "See How They Mock Me".

*LYRICS*
(available via captions above)

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